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THE TEACHER 
AND THE SCHOOL 



BY 
CHAUNCEY P. COLEGROVE, A.M., Sc.D., LL.D. 

FOR TWENTY TEARS A TEACHER OF TEACHERS IN THE IOWA STATE TEACHERS 

COLLEGE, CEDAR FALLS, IOWA, AND FOR FIVE YEARS PRESIDENT 

•F VPPER IOWA UNIVERSITY, FAYETTE, IOWA 



CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 



.Cu 



Copyright, 1910, 1922, by 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



Printed in the United. States of America 




NOV 21*22 



To my wife, Emma Ridley Colegrove, formerly Professor 
of History in the Iowa State Teachers College, 
whose help and sympathy have been my constant en- 
couragement, this book is affectionately dedicated 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/teacherschool01cole 



PREFACE 

Every human being ought to aspire to become some* 
thing, to be somebody, to do some useful work, to earn an 
honest living. 

It is taken for granted that the readers of this book are 
either teachers, or those who aspire to become such. For 
those who assume that teachers are born, not made, or 
believe themselves to be teachers "by the grace of God" 
through some process of pedagogical predestination, this 
book has no message. These pages are written for those 
who desire to become good teachers and always better 
teachers. Youth is no crime, and inexperience Is no dis- 
grace; but youth that does not aspire, and age that has 
not learned from experience are both a disgrace and a 
crime. 

All instruction involves both learning and teaching, and 
there are three elements that always enter into these 
processes: (i) The subject-matter to be taught; (2) the 
consciousness and self-activity of the pupil; (3) the prepa- 
ration and personality of the teacher. 

To be a real teacher one must make preparation along 
three main lines. Teachers must know what they teach, 
how to teach, and whom they teach. Scholarship, pro- 
fessional training, and a knowledge of children are, there- 
fore, essential to success as a teacher. "In place of the 

vii 



viii PREFACE 

former demand," says Roark, "that the teacher should 
know only the three R's, there has grown up the more 
rational one that he should know the three M's — Matter, 
Method, Mind." 

The teacher's work is many-sided. Under the condi- 
tions that prevail in American schools, he must perform 
the functions of organizer, instructor, trainer, ruler, and 
manager. This book attempts to give a systematic outline 
of the teacher's work along these lines. 

The aim of the book is not technical, but practical. It 

is the outgrowth of many years of study, observation, and 

experience. And during these years there has grown up 

in the mind of the author the supreme conviction that the 

teacher is the life of the school. Every other educational 

problem can be reduced to this question of the fitness of 

the teacher. Our entire educational system breaks down 

if teachers, when brought face to face with pupils in the 

school, fail to inspire, to teach, and to train them. How 

best to prepare themselves to become more efficient 

teachers is the problem that faces thousands of earnest, 

honest young people to-day. That these pages may assist 

them in making such preparation is my sincere desire. 

C P. C. 
Iowa State Teachers College, 
Cedar Falls, Iowa, May t 191a 



NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

The basic principles of education do not change, but 
the relative emphasis placed upon them and the method 
of applying them vary constantly in order to fit better 
our changing social needs and national ideals. These 
variations give us what we are pleased to call "trends 
in education". Thus it is that the "Old Education" is 
always passing away and the "New Education" is al- 
ways coming into being. 

Just now the "educational trend" in the United 
States, influenced in some degree by the Great World 
War, is the increased emphasis placed upon eight lines, 
or phases, of instruction and training in our public 
schools: (i) Greatly increased emphasis on the conserva- 
tion of health and the teaching of good health habits to 
all pupils; (2) systematic vocational guidance and train- 
ing; (3) the Americanization of all our people and com- 
pulsory instruction in all our schools in the duties of 
citizenship ; (4) determined effort to stamp out illiteracy 
everywhere through the more adequate and effective 
organization and use of our educational agencies, local, 
state, and national; (5) better trained teachers and 
more efficient class instruction, as indicated by various 
popular labels, such as "the socialized recitation," 
"vitalizing instruction," "the motivation of class work," 
the "project method of teaching"; (6) moral and re- 

ix 



x NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION 

ligious training in the public schools; (7) better rural 
schools; (8) scientific methods of testing the intelli- 
gence of pupils and the results of teaching. 

The reader will find that all these current phases of 
educational progress have received due consideration 
in this revision. With sincere gratitude for the cordial 
reception which "The Teacher and the School" has had 
in the past, both from teacher-training classes and 
teachers' reading circles, the author ventures the hope 
that in its revised form the book may be still more help- 
ful and satisfactory. 

June, 1922. 



INTRODUCTION 

There is a practical side to the teaching of children that 
requires knowledge of the child to be taught, of the subject 
matter to be acquired, and of the management and methods 
best to employ. The solution of the problems that arise 
in daily experience demands a thorough acquaintance 
with what has been found most effective and desirable. 
The experience of leading educators, combined with their 
opinions regarding policies and plans, is therefore of 
special value to those who desire to grow into greater 
effectiveness in professional life. There is much to be 
said about teaching and teachers that has not found its place 
in either history, philosophy, or literature, and the develop- 
ment of systems and of the practical means of economiz- 
ing time and effort will continue for years to come. The 
last word concerning the great work of public education* 
through elementary and secondary schools, will not be 
said until American educational problems have all been 
solved, and that time will come only when democracy has 
completed its mission and mankind is fully civilized and 
enlightened. There are interpretations to be made of what 
the great thinkers of the past have said, while adaptations 
of their conclusions must be secured to render the truth 
effective for the service of the teacher. The necessity for 
actual teachers, who have won success in the fields of public 
school work, to become interpreters of this truth in order 



xii INTRODUCTION 

that the truth may become useful to the rank and file Is 
self-evident. They owe it to those who daily face the 
children of the common people in the common school in 
order that more perfect knowledge may lighten the burden 
necessity makes imperative and real when instructing and 
training them in the way of civilization. 

These great phases of education as found in the philoso- 
phy, science, and art of teaching are presented in this work 
in such a way that helpfulness, good spirit, and personal 
character are brought to the front as essentials to success 
in the vocation, while at the same time the realities and 
the necessities of school instruction are so emphasized and 
explained that quality and quantity are both given place 
and prominence. 

Education is shown to be a gradual process of growth in 
certain elements that are cumulative in their nature and 
definite in their existence. The reader constantly con- 
fronts the fact that the teacher has a personal work to 
do, and that there is no substitute for good health, good 
scholarship, good character, or good training. Efficiency 
is a logical consequence of endeavor and of fidelitv to the 
principles of sincerity and truth. Success is a result that 
can be insured by acquiring the qualities essential to the 
teaching vocation, and the teaching of children is so im- 
portant and has such immense possibilities that no person 
should dare to undertake it without having made a prepa- 
ration that the time and the means at hand give in such 
abundance. 

No teacher of teachers is more fully represented in his 
book than is the author of these pages. He has been 



INTRODUCTION xiii 

through the experiences he suggests, he is an exemplar 
of his philosophy of work, he has given all he has in ordei 
to attain to the high standard of capability he has reached, 
while he comprehends in full the problems each beginner 
has to solve. His sympathy is marked in the atmosphere 
he throws about the sentiments here expressed; his ideals 
of life are portrayed in the choice standards here developed; 
and his conception of the greatness of the teacher's work is 
apparent on every page. To the young teacher this message 
will be the way of life; to the worried, tired teacher these 
sentiments will point a way of obtaining rest and relief; 
while to the enthusiastic, experienced teacher these words 
will be a constant reminder to keep near to the children 
and depend more upon the daily practice than upon sublime 
theory. 

Homer H. Seerley, 
President Iowa State Teacliers College* 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

Note to the Revised Edition ix 

Introduction xi 

PART I 

THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 

Chapter I — Choosing a Vocation in a Democ- 
racy 3 

i. Becoming a teacher by accident. 2. Choosing a life-work in a 
democracy. 3. Importance of choosing a vocation. 4. Prob- 
lems involved in choosing a vocation. 5. Vocational guidance. 
6. Essentials to success in all vocations. 7. What constitutes a 
profession? 8. Standards for measuring the efficient teacher. 
9. Renton score card for grading teachers. 10. Preparation for 
efficient teaching. 

Chapter II — Efficient Teachers must have 
Scholarship 14 

1. Importance of scholarship. 2. Meaning of scholarship. 
3. How scholarship aids the teacher: (a) creates interest in school 
work; (&) prevents disorder; (c) commands respect and confidence; 
(d) secures and holds attention in class; (e) inspires faithful study; 
(/) sets up ideals to be attained. 4. Conclusion. 

Chapter III — Professional Training and 
Growth .22 

1. Neglect of the professional training of teachers in America. 
2. The protest of the wise. 3. Why professional training has 
been neglected in the United States. 4. Social and economic 
changes in the United States have: (a) greatly broadened the 

xv 



xvi CONTENTS 



work of the school; (b) made the training of teachers essential. 5. 
What professional training includes. 6. Advantages of profes- 
sional training: (a) would prevent failure; (b) save health; (c) fur- 
nish correct standards of teaching; (d) render experience fruitful; 
(e) prevent costly experimenting on pupils. 7. Means of securing 
professional training before teaching. 8. Professional growth 
while teaching: (a) through daily practice in teaching; (b) through 
study; (c) through educational papers; (d) through school visi- 
tation; (e) through institutes, associations, and summer schools. 

Chapter IV — The Study oe Children and Its 
Results 38 

1. Child-study a necessary part of the teacher's preparation. 
2. In loco parentis. 3. Society's costly blunder and its results. 

4. The "new education" based upon a knowledge of children. 

5. The modern teacher must study children: (a) to understand 
educational aims and values; (b) to avoid mistakes; (c) to select 
and apply methods and devices intelligently; (d) to consciously 
direct the thinking, feeling, and willing of the child. 6. Methods 
of studying children. 7. Aids to method. 8. Results of teaching 
without a knowledge of children. 9. Effects of studying chil- 
dren: (a) has profoundly influenced our courses of study and 
methods of teaching; (&) greatly improved school architecture 
and school sanitation; (c) given us a more rational view of the 
child's development; (d) pointed the way to effective moral train- 
ing in our public schools; (e) stimulated public interest in the 
welfare of children and given teachers greater insight and more 
sympathy. 10. The loveless school is a bad school, n. Pesta- 
lozzi's miracle at Stanz. 

Chapter V — The Health of the Teacher r . 61 

_ 1. Essentials in the making of a teacher. 2. Health condi- 
tions as revealed by the World War. 3. Importance of good 
health in the teacher. 4. How the teacher's ill-health reacts 
upon the school. 5. The teacher's duty as to health. 6. Health 
as a source of happiness. 7. Modern health ideals and agencies. 
8. Teachers are the real health officers of the school: (a) in pre- 
venting disease; (b) in teaching the laws of healthful living; 
(c) in forming good health habits. 

Chapter VI— The Teacher's Personality . .71 

1. Meaning of _ personality. 2. Factors in personality. 3. Will 
as an element in personality. 4. Self-selection in the growth 
of personality. 5. Rules for developing personality: (a) law of 
health and happiness; (b) law of courage and endurance; (c) law of 
uplift of soul; (d) law of selection and emphasis; (e) law of de- 




CONTENTS xvii 



voted service. 6. Unconscious preparation for teaching: (a) skill 
and tact in handling children; (b) preparation for responsibility; 
(c) growth in executive ability and initiative. 7. Excuses for 
failure. 8. No impossible ideal. 9. Importance of the teacher's 
work. 



PART II 

THE TEACHER AS ORGANIZER 

Chapter VII— American Democracy and Com- 
mon Schools 83 

1. Democracy and free public schools. 2. Views of Wash- 
ington, Jefferson, and Madison. 3. The struggle for free schools. 
4. American common schools a unique institution. 5. Com- 
pulsory attendance laws. 6. Democratic society maintains the 
school through co-operation. 7. The four institutions that are 
partners in the school are: (a) the family; (&) the state; (c) the 
vocations, or business; (d) the church. 8. Reaction of the school 
upon society. 9. Americanization. 10. Marks of a good citizen, 
n. Training good American citizens in the schools must: (a) be 
based upon the fundamental principles of democracy; (b) have a 
definite programme; (c) requires a rational method; (d) and de- 
mands competent and patriotic teachers. 12. The school citizen's 
creed. 

Chapter VIII — Nature and Importance of 
School Organization 98 

1. The five phases of the teacher's work: (a) organization; 
(&) management; (c) instruction; (d) training; (e) discipline. 2. 
Organization must come first. 3. The teacher's share in organizing 
the school: (a) importance; (b) must be planned; (c) value to the 
pupil. 4. Organization implies mechanism. 5. Common-sense 
factors. 6. The teacher as organizer needs: (a) a good under- 
standing of human nature; (&) constructive imagination; (c) con- 
fidence in his ability to plan work; (d) practical skill, good temper, 
and good sense; (e) a broad social outlook. 

Chapter IX — Nature of the School . . . 108 

1. The school is an organism. 2. The school is an industrial 
organization. 3. The school is a social community. 4. The 
school viewed as a complex, self-perpetuating institution. 5. Co- 
operation is the great law of school organization and work. 



xviii CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Chapter X — Aims of the School . . . .117 

1. General aims of the school as expressed in famous definitions 
of education. 2. Why these definitions are of value to teachers. 
3. "Complete living" as the general aim of education includes: 
(a) the promotion of vigorous health; (b) vocational outlook and 
guidance; (c) right behavior in the home; (d) citizenship and 
social efficiency; (e) training for rational enjoyment. 4. Sig- 
nificance of these aims of the modern school. 5. No conflict be- 
tween "complete living" and "morality" as supreme aims of 
education. 6. The moral mission of the school. 7. The teacher's 
opportunity and privilege. 



Chapter XI — The Course of Study . . . .129 

1. Relation of the course of study to the aims of the school. 2. 
Importance of the elementary course of study. 3. The aims of the 
course of study. 4. Relation of the course of study to the com- 
munity and to civilization. 5. Making a course of study involves 
three main problems: (a) the selection of material; (b) the order, 
or sequence, of studies and topics; (c) the correlation of subjects. 
6. Theories governing the selection of studies: (a) theory of formal 
discipline; (b) theory of the utility of knowledge; (c) theory of 
socializing the individual; (d) theory of interest. 7. Basis of truth 
in each of these theories. 8. The relative value of studies. 9. 
Groups of studies in the elementary course: (a) language and 
literature group; (b) science group; (c) mathematics group; 
(d) history and civics group; (e) art and play group; (/) vocational 
subjects. 10. Outline of the six groups of subjects by grades, 
n. The sequence of studies and topics: (a) psychological order; 
(&) logical order; (c) the order of the culture epochs. 12. The 
correlation of studies. 13. The teacher and the curriculum. 
14. The nature of the course of study. 15. How to make the 
best use of the course of study. 16. Needed reforms in elementary 
education. 



Chapter XII — Planning the Campaign . . . 157 

1. Preliminary work: (a) meeting the legal requirements; (b) 
securing the school; (c) signing the contract. 2. Making a pre- 
study of the field: (a) to ascertain the public sentiment of the dis- 
trict; (b) to secure a good boarding-place; (c) to know the condi- 
tion and arrangement of the school-house; (d) to find out what 
materials there are to work with; (e) to consult the school records; 
(/) to get the information necessary to form an intelligent plan of 
action. 3. The first day. 4. A teacher's confession. 5. Some 
additional suggestions. 6. The secret of making a good start. 



CONTENTS xix 

PAGE 

Chapter XIII — Better Rural-School Organi- 
zation 169 

1. Meaning. 2. Systems of school organization. 3. Rural- 
school problem is of vital importance, because it is: (a) closely re- 
lated to rural social and economic life; (b) concerns one-half of all 
our school children; (c) the old-time "district school" is no longer 
an efficient school; (d) boys and girls on the farm must have equal 
educational opportunities with city children. 4. Factors in the 
solution of the rural-school problem: (a) major program of con- 
solidation; (b) minor program of standardizing schools. 5. Out- 
line course of study for one-room rural schools. 6. Suggestions for 
classifying pupils. 7. How to reduce the number of classes. 

Chapter XIV — Gradation of City and Con- 
solid ated Schools . . . . . . . .184 

1. Grades and classes are necessary in a system of universal edu- 
cation. 2. Plans of gradation: (a) term or semester plan; (b) Mr. 
Search's "Ideal School"; (c) the Elizabeth plan; (d) the Batavia 
plan; (e) the modified Cambridge plan; (/) the Gary plan. 3. 
Other devices for securing flexible gradation. 4. Departmental 
teaching. 5. Intelligence tests as a basis of classification and 
promotion: (a) meaning of intelligence; (b) army intelligence tests; 
(c) Binet intelligence tests and results; (d) use of intelligence tests 
and results; (e) value of intelligence tests in school work; (/) lim- 
itations of intelligence tests. 6. The wiser course. 

Chapter XV — The Daily Programme . . . 206 

1. Importance and objects of the programme. 2. Factors 
in the problem of making a programme: (a) the time element; 

(b) the subjects and their relative importance; (c) the succession 
of studies. 3. Summary of principles. 4. Programme for a 
rural school — five divisions. 5. Keeping to the programme. 6. 
Rural-school graduation exercises. 

Chapter XVI — The School-room as a Factor in 
Organization 219 

1. The old-time school-house. 2. The school-room interests 
the entire community. 3. A pleasant school-room a silent teacher 
of morals. 4. The relation of school hygiene to good order. 

5. The question of health: (a) care of the eyes; (6) correct posture; 

(c) comfortable temperature; {d) pure air; (<?) contagious diseases; 
(/) care of the school-room; (g) over-pressure of exceptional pupils. 

6. Bookcases and cabinets. 7. Other furniture. 8. Apparatus. 
9. Decorations. 10. The school library. 



xx CONTENTS 

PART III 

THE TEACHER AS INSTRUCTOR 

PAGE 

Chapter XVII — Methods of Testing and Mea- 
suring School Work 236 

1. Wrong conceptions of school work: (a) that "hearing recita- 
tions" is school work; (b) that "keeping order" is school work; 

(c) that "puttering" over non-essentials is school work; (d) that 
merely "doing things" under the spur of interest is school work; 
(e) that a "monotonous round of drudgery" is school work. 

2. Right views of school work: (a) school work for the teacher is 
instruction and training guided by definite aims; (b) it is helping 
the child to realize his best possibilities; (c) school work for pupils 
is the solving of problems that grow out of their present interests; 

(d) it is acquiring specific skills which are directly or indirectly val- 
uable; (e) it is creative activity. 3. Testing and measuring the 
results of school work: (a) traditional methods inadequate; (&) 
scientific measurements — nature, use, value; (c) measuring the 
"by-products" of the school work; (d) remote tests of school 

work. 

I 

Chapter XVIII — Nature of the Teaching- 
Learning Process 256 

1. Definitions of teaching. 2. Teaching a two-sided process. 

3. The psychology of teaching. 4. Teaching not a mechanical 
process. 5. The child's capital: (a) the nervous system as re- 
lated to teaching; (&) the contents of the child's mind include: 
(1) sensations, (2) percepts, (3) memory images, (4) images of 
imagination, (5) concepts; (c) the factors of feeling and will. 
6. Summary. 7. Some important inferences. 

Chapter XIX — Some Laws of Teaching and 
Learning 278 

1. The law of sense-perception. 2. The law of motor reac- 
tion. 3. The law of apperception. 4. The law of self-activity. 
5. The law of aim. 6. The law of induction. 7. The law of de- 
duction. 8. The law of interest and attention. 9. The law of 
habit-forming. 

! 

Chapter XX — Improving the Recitation Lesson 293 

1. Forms of teaching-learning. 2. The recitation lesson is a 
form of the teaching-learning process: (a) aims; (b) possibilities. 
3. Why the recitation lesson may fail to realize its possibilities: 
(a) many teachers do not know how to teach; (b) misuse of text- 



CONTENTS xxi 

PAGE 

books; (c) lack of proper surroundings and facilities; (d) lack of 
motivation. 4. Shall the recitation-lesson be abolished? 5. 
Means of improving the recitation lesson: (a) by the better moti- 
vation of school work; (b) by socializing the recitation; (c) by 
supervised study; (d) by the use of projects. 5. Project teaching: 
(a) definitions; (b) types of projects; (c) characteristics of a good 
project; id) method of teaching a project; (e) advantages of proj- 
ect teaching; (/) dangers of project-teaching. 6. How teachers 
may realize the aims of the recitation lesson. 7. Prerequisites of 
a successful recitation lesson. 

Chapter XXI — The Teacher's Preparation oe 
the Lesson-Project 310 

1. The "dead-line." 2. The teacher should be independent 
of the book. 3. Why teaching is a mode of learning. 4. How to 
study a lesson to teach it: (a) as related to other lessons and sub- 
jects; (&) must have a plan of study; (c) keep in mind an image of 
the class as composed of individuals; (d) illustrations must be 
thought out; (e) make provision for a review of the last lessons 
and a pre- view of the new lesson. 5. When to study the lesson to 
teach it: (a) common practice; (b) should be studied before as- 
signing it. 6. How daily study aids the teacher in assigning the 
lesson: (a) knows what and how much to assign; (b) can indicate 
the main points; (c) able to make good use of the library; (d) can 
suggest how best to attack the lesson; (e) can keep the pupil's work 
balanced. 7. How daily study aids in teaching the lesson: (a) 
makes the teacher independent of the book; (b) gives freedom and 
skill in questioning; (c) saves time, creates interest, and holds at- 
tention. 

Chapter XXII — Proper Assignment oe Lessons 321 

1. Meaning. 2. What the teacher assumes in assigning the 
lessons. 3. Assigning lessons a test of the teacher's ability. 4. 
Importance and value of good lesson assignments. 5. Principles 
governing the assignment of lessons : (a) must appeal to pupil's in- 
terests; (b) must challenge his power to think; (c) must persuade 
his will to attack the lesson aggressively; (d) must appeal to his 
past experiences; (e) should be based on projects. 6. Steps in 
assigning the lesson. 7. Suggestions and directions. 8. Time 
required for assignment of the lesson. 9. Oversight of the pupil's 
study. 

Chapter XXIII — The Pupil's Study of the 
Lesson 336 

1. The study-lesson. 2. Study defined. 3. Nature of study. 
4. Importance of learning how to study. 5. Aims of the study- 



xxii CONTENTS 



lesson: (<i) independent mastery of books; (b) power of sustained 
thinking; (c) habit of self-controlled work; (d) sense of personal 
responsibility. 6. Method in lesson study. 7. Difficulties in 
learning to study: (a) the child's previous mode of learning; (b) 
change from oral lessons to text-book work; (c) text-books no 
stimulus to effort; (d) untoward physical surroundings; (e) out- 
side interests and distractions. 8. Right conditions of study. 
9. How to help pupils to study: (a) physical conditions need con- 
stant oversight; (b) the plan of work must be clear and definite; 
(c) no interruptions of the study-lessons should be tolerated; (d) 
study with the pupils; (e) teach the art of study through right 
practice in study. 



Chapter XXIV — Method in Teaching the Les- 
son 362 

1. Is there a typical method of teaching? 2. Meaning of 
method. 3. Great variety of so-called "methods". 4. The 
lesson aim, problem, or project. 5. What is implied in the proper 
statement of the lesson aim or project. 6. Class activities in the 
recitation period; (1) in oral lessons; (2) in text-book lessons; 
(a) reporting and checking the results of the study-lesson; (b) gath- 
ering additional data; (c) comparing and sifting data; (d) dis- 
covering thought relations and principles; (e) verifying 'principles 
and applying them to new situations; (/) planning the next study- 
lesson. 7. Aids to method, or teaching devices. 8. The " stream 
of thought" in the recitation period. 



PART IV 

THE teacher as trainer 

Chapter XXV — Training in Ideals and Char- 
acter 383 

1. All effective education implies training. 2. Nature of train- 
ing. 3. Results of the neglect of training in modern education. 
4. Fallacy of the old view of formal discipline. 5. Training in 
right habits must accompany instruction. 6. The school cannot 
evade responsibility for moral training. 7. Sources of material for 
character education. 8. Methods of moral instruction and train- 
ing: (a) direct; (b) indirect, or incidental; (c) combination of 
direct and indirect teaching; (d) children's code of morals; (e) 
Plans for the National Institution for Moral Instruction. 



CONTENTS xxiii 

PAGE 

Chapter XXVI — Habit Forming is Character 
Building 395 

1. Advantages of habits: (a) save power and lessen fatigue; (b) 
strengthen power; (c) conserve knowledge. 2. Dangers of habits: 
(a) children may acquire bad habits through ignorance; (b) may 
supplant judgment and prevent change; (c) may be our worst 
enemies. 3. Steps in voluntary habit-forming:' (a) the starting 
point, or the raw materials of habits; (b) how attention makes 
motives; (c) weighing and choosing; (d) acting and imaging 
actions; (e) tendency to repetition, or the physiological factor in 
habit; (/) repetition, or persistent imitation. 4. Habits as re- 
lated to character. 5. Rules for forming and breaking habits: 
(a) make a vigorous start; (b) permit no exception; (c) act on every 
opportunity; (d) grow a good habit in the place of a bad one. 6. 
The spirit and motives of the teacher. 



PART V 

THE TEACHER AS RULER AND MANAGER 

Chapter XXVII — School Government . . .410 

1. The old view of school discipline. 2. Why school govern- 
ment has become more humane. 3. School government as re- 
lated to discipline. 4. Good order must precede effective train- 
ing. 5. School government a relative term. 6. The sources of 
good order: (a) the authority of the teacher; (&) the character and 
influence of the teacher; (c) the interest of the pupils in their 
school work; (<£) the ideals and standards of the community. 

7. Means of securing good order: (a) indirect means; (b) direct 
means: (1) positive; (2) negative; (3) natural punishments. 

8. Influence of the teacher's work. 



Index 431 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

PART I 
THE MAKING OF A TEACHER 

CHAPTER I 
CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 

Becoming a Teacher by Accident. — One Friday a stu- 
dent in my class in school management stopped at the 
desk and said: "I shall not be in the class Monday. I 
am going home to teach." She told me that she had 
never taught, but that there were not teachers enough to 
fill the schools in her county, and so the county superin- 
tendent had asked her to take a school for the winter 
term. 

Friday this young woman was a student — a learner. 
She took an examination Saturday, and received a cer- 
tificate. The following oMnday she entered the school- 
room to assume the duties of a teacher. 

Now, there is no magic in the word certificate, nor in 
the word teacher, nor in the work of teaching to trans- 
form in a day or two a weak, uncultured, inexperienced 
young man or woman into a strong, learned, and capable 
teacher. It is evident that whatever faults and weak- 

3 



4 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

nesses, whatever ignorance and lack of self-control a per- 
son may have as a student Friday will go with him into 
the school-room when he enters it Monday morning as a 
teacher. No process has ever been discovered by which 
one may suddenly acquire the qualifications of a real 
teacher. Knowledge is a plant of slow growth. Good 
habits are the result of long and persistent right-doing. 
No teacher acquires professional skill by accident. Hard 
study and experience are always necessary to become 
skilled in any work or trade or art. It is possible to cram 
for examination, but no one can cram for character. 

More than one hundred thousand young people who 
are students now will be teachers in our public schools 
one year from now. If as students they have been ac- 
curate, industrious, systematic, and honest, they will 
take these qualities with them into their school-rooms as 
teachers. If as students they have acquired habits of 
keen observation, order, cheerfulness, dependability, and 
dignity these habits will be a part of their equipment for 
their work. The process of becoming a real teacher is 
largely the acquirement of these qualities and habits. 
But no thoughtful and honest young man or woman will 
become a teacher by accident. Time is so precious, the 
work of teaching is so important, its responsibilities are 
so great that no one should attempt to teach without 
first facing squarely and honestly the problem of choos- 
ing a vocation, selecting a life-work— the problem of 
Becoming a Teacher, and Making Reasonable Preparation 
for Teaching. 

Choosing a Life-work in a Democracy. — The glory of 
our democracy is the opportunity it offers the individual 
to realize the best that is in him. To choose the par- 
ticular calling in which they are to invest their life is one 



CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 5 

of the most important decisions that young men and 
women can make, The privilege of freely choosing one's 
life-work is a priceless gift of our nation to its boys and 
girls. Compulsion, class distinctions, slavery, caste are 
the tools of autocracy; freedom is the essence of true de- 
mocracy. But this freedom must be the liberty of in- 
telligent choice, not the license of ignorance. Therefore 
real democracy and universal education are inseparable. 
Our public schools exist in order that all our people may 
be free — free to acquire the knowledge and form the 
habits that fit them for a life-work, intelligently chosen, 
by means of which they may earn a livelihood, may 
render some useful service to the state, and may realize 
their best possibilities. Thus the state is vitally con- 
cerned in what each pupil in our schools does with his 
education, what occupation he chooses, and how he pre- 
pares for it. Vocations and professions are the oppor- 
tunities to work that civilized society has developed for 
the individual. In all countries where the people have 
been kept in ignorance, the life-work of the individual 
has been determined for him by sheer necessity or by 
some system of caste. Here in America the individual 
chooses his vocation in his own right. All right-minded 
young people will face seriously the problem of choosing 
a life occupation, for not to do so is to drift into some 
" blind-alley job" on leaving school, or eventually to join 
the army of "misfits," or swell the ranks of those who 
tramp, beg, or steal. 

Importance of Choosing a Vocation. — Food, clothing, 
shelter, savings, are all products of labor. "Blessed is 
the man who has found his work," wrote Thomas Car- 
hie. To be a man without a vocation is almost as bad 
as to be "a man without a country." Work is the mark 



6 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of manliness, the sign of courage and virtue, the symbol 
of character. Unless a man inherits property enough 
to support him all his life he must get his living by 
working, begging, or stealing. An able-bodied man who 
does not earn in some legitimate occupation at least 
as much as he consumes is a beggar or a thief. Self- 
support is essential to self-respect. Through useful 
work done in the right spirit we forge an efficient life. 
On the other hand, laziness is the mother of worthless- 
ness. Indolence is the sign of weakness, failure, and 
cowardice. Any one who is too lazy to earn money 
will not spend it wisely if given to him. 

In view of these facts it is clear that one of the most 
vital and far-reaching decisions of life is the choice of a 
vocation. The advantages of making an early choice 
are many. The student who has not chosen his life- 
work does not have a definite goal; his energies are scat- 
tered, his interests are superficial, his incentives to study 
are usually weak or artificial, and he seldom does his 
best. But the student who has definitely chosen his 
vocation or profession finds his studies quite trans- 
formed by such choice. His objective is clear. His 
school work is vitalized. His motives for study are 
strengthened. His efforts are unified and his whole 
life is intensified. The choice of one's life-work steadies 
the purpose, develops will, takes the sting of drudgery 
out of hard work, unfolds new powers, and cultivates 
habits of industry, courage, patience, honesty, self- 
reliance, and preserves the life from a thousand petty 
temptations to idleness, doubtful amusements, and 
harmful companions. 

Problems Involved in Choosing a Vocation. — There 
are three important problems involved in choosing a 



CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 7 

life-work: (i) What has the vocation to offer me in the 
way of earning a living, opportunity for useful service, 
and as a means of self-realization? (2) Do I possess 
the aptitude and natural qualities that fit me for this 
particular occupation? (3) What preparation must I 
make to insure success in the vocation? 

In solving these three problems wisely young people 
need all the help they can get from the home, the school, 
and the State; for, as we have shown, few decisions of 
life are so fraught with the possibilities of good and 
evil to the individual as the choice of a life-work, and, 
on the other hand, society is vitally concerned as to 
what its members do and how they do it. Many social 
evils in our social and industrial life are very largely 
due to the fact that hitherto young people have been 
permitted to drop out of school at an early age and drift 
into any sort of work that was at hand, or, worse yet, 
do nothing. Few such young people ever get out of 
the class of "unskilled labor," and many of them live 
a shiftless, thriftless, hopeless existence. Democracy 
has not done its whole duty by the child until it has 
given him education enough to discover the opportuni- 
ties offered for earning a livelihood and has also provided 
some adequate means of vocational guidance and edu- 
cation. Unless our public schools can lift our industrial 
world to a higher level, they are not serving democracy 
as efficiently as they should serve it. 

Vocational Guidance. — Many schools are now making 
a serious effort to help pupils in the choice of a vocation. 
The nature and aims of vocational education, as sum- 
marized by the Commission of the N. E. A. on the 
Reorganization of Secondary Education are: "Voca- 
tional education should equip the individual to secure a 



8 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

livelihood for himself and those dependent on him, to 
serve society well through his vocation, to maintain 
the right relationships toward his fellow-workers, and, 
as far as possible, to find in that vocation his own best 
development. This ideal demands that the pupil ex- 
plore his own capacities and aptitudes and make a sur- 
vey of the world's work to the end that he may select 
his vocation wisely." 

It should be the aim of vocational guidance to help 
pupils make a careful study of the leading types of vo- 
cations, comparing their advantages and disadvantages 
as to wages, regular employment, qualities demanded, 
preparation required, conditions of work, opportunities 
for advancement, social and legal status of workers, 
and the means of self-improvement. There is abundant 
material at hand for the use of teachers and pupils. 
Through such instruction in vocational guidance the 
teacher who is at all acquainted with the occupational 
world can vitalize any subject in the course of study by 
showing its value as a preparation for specific vocations. 
Excellent books on vocational guidance are found in 
nearly every library. Leading magazines are full of 
interesting stories of great industries and the men who 
have accomplished large things in the economic world. 
The leading vocations are represented in some form in 
every community and pupils can study them first 
hand. Shops, mills, stores, factories, and farms can be 
visited. Successful business and professional men may 
be invited to talk on their special work to the student 
body. Pupils can be encouraged to try out during vaca- 
tions certain occupations that appeal to them as pros- 
spective vocations. 

Through all these means the student is obtaining a 



CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 9 

knowledge of the world's work, its importance and va- 
riety, its opportunities, its challenge, while at the same 
time he is discovering such a knowledge of his own per- 
sonal interests, ambitions, and capacities as will enable 
him to make an intelligent choice of his life-work. He is 
then ready to set himself resolutely to the task of pre- 
paring himself specifically for the occupation he has 
chosen. 

Essentials to Success in All Vocations. — It cannot be 
impressed upon the student too strongly that the essen- 
tials of success are the same in all occupations. There 
is no trade or vocation in which one does not need a good 
knowledge of reading, writing, composition, and arith- 
metic. These are the tools that have enabled men to 
conquer the forces of nature and build up civilization. 
Then there are certain elements of character and cer- 
tain habits that all occupations demand, such as honesty, 
dependability, accuracy, good temper, system, courtesy. 
Intelligent teachers should have no great difficulty in 
convincing their pupils of the vocational value of these 
habits, and that employers everywhere demand these 
qualities and habits in those who apply for positions. 
In the blanks sent out by the United States Government 
for information concerning applicants for positions in 
the Civil Sendee are these questions: "Is the applicant 
a person of good moral character? Is he a person of 
sober and industrious habits? Is he trustworthy and 
of unquestioned honesty? Is he profane or vulgar in 
speech? Has he any physical ailment, disease, or de- 
fect?" 

Bonding companies always require confidential in- 
formation in regard to those for whom they become 
surety, and among the questions asked by them are: 



10 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

"Is the applicant industrious and faithful? Has he 
ever been suspected of dishonesty, gambling, or drunk- 
enness? Does he live above his means? What is the 
character of his associates and companions?" 

These essential qualities and habits may be acquired. 
They are within the reach of all. They are required 
in all occupations, and are the only sure foundations of 
success. 

What Constitutes a Profession? — (i) A profession is 
an occupation that requires all the time of its members 
and renders an important service to the community. 

(2) Such an occupation demands certain standards of 
fitness and preparation for admission to it. 

(3) It must provide a living wage or salary. 

(4) It must contain a sufficient number of workers to 
develop associations for mutual improvement and for 
encouraging loyalty to the profession and a spirit of 
craftsmanship and good- will among its members. 

(5) It must afford opportunities for growth and ad- 
vancement. 

(6) It must develop a scientific method. 

(7) It must require self-forgetfulness and the devo- 
tion of one's best powers to the demands of the calling. 

Teaching as a profession does not yet measure up to 
all of these requirements, for it does not yet require a 
sufficiently high degree of fitness and preparation on the 
part of those who seek to enter upon the work. Ac- 
cording to the report of the U. S. Commissioner of 
Education for 1920, more than half of the teachers of 
the nation are not prepared, according to any reasonable 
standard, for the work of teaching. Most of these 
350,000 unprepared teachers are pitiful failures, do not 
receive a living wage, have no knowledge of scientific 



CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 11 

method, no proper realization of the importance of their 
work, no sense of loyalty to the profession of teaching, 
little desire for self-improvement. They are a tremen- 
dous handicap to the teaching profession and are, in 
short, a national educational calamity. 

Standards for Measuring the Efficient Teacher. — Ef- 
ficiency has been defined as the "effective power for 
work during a healthy and active life." Efficient teach- 
ers render a service to the State and to society second to 
no other class of workers. Success in teaching requires 
adequate preparation for its duties. Young people who 
choose the work of teaching reveal their own fitness or 
unfitness for the occupation by their attitude toward 
preparing for it. To begin the work of teaching with- 
out making any serious attempt to prepare to do it 
intelligently and efficiently is a pretty sure indication 
of gross ignorance of its requirements or a selfish dis- 
regard of the rights of children and the best interests of 
the State. An examination of the accompanying score- 
card for grading teachers will show how large are the 
requirements and how varied are the duties and the 
relationships of teachers in service. This score-card is 
in actual use in the public schools of Renton, Washing- 
ton, and was made and adopted by the Teachers' Coun- 
cil. 
Renton Score-card for Grading Teachers. — 
Personality 

( ) Appearance 

( ) Vigor 

( ) Voice 

( ) Intelligence 

( ) Leadership 

( ) Fairness 

( ) Adaptability 



12 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

( ) Reliability 

( ) Industry 

( ) Promptness 
Teaching Power and Skill 

( ) Organization of Subject-matter 

( ) Presentation of Subject-matter 

( ) Skill and Judgment in Questioning 

( ) Motivation and Project 

( ) Assignment 

( ) Skill in Making the Class Work 

( ) Discipline 

( ) Room Condition — Attractiveness, Order, Control- 
lable Hygiene 
Pupil Responses 

( ) Command of Subject-matter 

( ) Development of Thinking Ability 

( ) Development of Power of Expression 

( ) Development of Manual Skill 

( ) Self-government 

( ) School-room Morale and Habits — Honesty, Fair- 
ness, Loyalty, Industry, Initiative 
Professional Growth and Loyalty 

( ) General Reading 

( ) Professional Reading 

( ) Interest in Educational Movements 

Attendance at educational meetings 
Support of teachers' organizations 
Team Work and Social Qualities 

( ) Co-operation with School Officials 

( ) Co-operation with Colleagues 

( ) Co-operation with Community Leaders 

( ) Co-operation with Students in their Activities 

( ) Ability to Secure and Hold Respect of Pupils and 
Community 

( ) Interest in School Welfare 

The Preparation for Efficient Teaching. — In Part I of 
this book the five essentials in the preparation of teach- 
ers for effective work will be emphasized: (i) Adequate 



CHOOSING A VOCATION IN A DEMOCRACY 13 

scholarship; (2) professional training and growth; (3) 
knowledge of children; (4) health; (5) personality. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bloomfield, "Vocational Guidance of Youth"; Woodley, "The 
Profession of Teaching," chaps. I, XIII; Puffer, "Vocational 
Guidance," chaps. I, XVI, XVII; James, "Talks to Teachers." 



CHAPTER II 
BFFICIEIIT TEACHERS MUST HAVE SCHOLARSH^ 

Importance of Scholarship. — The first essential quali- 
fication of the teacher is scholarship, not so much for 
what it is as for what it stands. A simple cross is not 
much in itself, only a bit of wood, or silver, or gold; but 
it stands for much. As a symbol, it is full of meaning 
and of power. So it is with scholarship. It stands for 
ability well directed, for zealous and continuous effort, 
for daily tasks faithfully performed, and for self-denial 
in a hundred different ways. 

However much we may insist upon professional train- 
ing, common-sense, and the spirit of the teacher as es- 
sential qualifications for the work of teaching, these 
three things are perfectly obvious: 

(i) Successful professional training must rest upon 
the foundation of accurate and adequate scholarship. 
The more methods and devices a smatterer acquires 
the more dangerous he becomes. 

(2) No person of common-sense will invite failure by 
attempting to do a work for which he has made no prepa- 
ration. 

(3) By the "spirit of the teacher" we, of course, mean 
the right spirit. We mean interest in the school and the 
pupils, definite plans, honesty of purpose, enthusiasm, 
appreciation of the value of our work, freedom from 
sham and hypocrisy; and these things demand scholar- 
ship in the teacher. Mr. White says: "Even the small- 
est pupil in school has wit enough to know that no one 

14 



TEACHERS MUST HAVE SCHOLARSHIP 15 

should attempt to teach what he does not know." To 
know well what he attempts to teach is the first essen- 
tial qualification of the teacher. This is so evidently 
true that the government of every civilized state re- 
quires those who teach in its public schools to pass an 
examination in the essential branches of study. 

Any primary or elementary teacher who, because of 
her ignorance, is constantly making mistakes in spell- 
ing, grammar, history, and geography, who must keep 
her book open in the class, and is compelled to dodge 
questions which she ought to be able to answer, justly 
deserves the contempt of her pupils. 

Meaning of Scholarship. — Some one has said that 
scholarship is a thorough and fresh knowledge of the 
subjects taught. This definition is not broad enough, 
for efficient scholarship includes much more than a 
knowledge of subject-matter or facts. How we know is 
as important as what we know. Real scholarship dis- 
covers the relation of facts, interprets them, compares 
them, classifies them according to their fundamental 
connections. Scholarship means discipline as well as 
knowledge, for knowledge acquired in a loose, illogical 
manner will always be confused and unreliable. Only a 
well-trained teacher can acquire intellectual control of 
the pupil's mind, give right direction to his growing 
powers, awaken his inner life, and arouse his highest 
aspirations for learning. The teacher must know much 
more than he teaches. He must know not only the 
lesson he teaches but the book he teaches and the sub- 
ject he teaches — know its relations to other subjects 
and to life. 

Scholarship means love of truth for truth's sake; and 
if the teacher has not a sincere love of truth, how shall 



16 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

he teach his pupils to value " wisdom above rubies"? 
Scholarship means power to think; and if the teacher is 
not a thinker, how shall he train others to think? 

How Scholarship Aids the Teacher. — Many young 
people, under the conditions that have prevailed in our 
American schools, have entered upon the work of teach- 
ing with very meagre scholarship. Some of them have 
made successful teachers, because they possessed good 
natural abilities and devoted themselves heart and soul 
to their school work. They prepared their daily lessons 
faithfully and lost no opportunity for self-improvement. 
For such young people we have no criticism. But the 
great majority of these unprepared young teachers have 
not made a success of their work. After teaching a 
few terms, some of them drop out of the field discouraged 
and discredited — dismal failures. Others continue to 
teach as long as they are able to secure schools, but 
make no effort to improve, and complain bitterly if 
they are compelled to attend a teachers' institute. 

To be content to teach term after term on the lowest 
grade of certificates issued by the state is the plainest 
possible evidence that such persons have formed no ade- 
quate conceptions of teaching. If young people realized 
that lack of scholarship is the ever-fruitful source of 
heartache and worry for the teacher, as well as the source 
of mischief, meanness, and ill temper in the pupils, 
fewer third-grade teachers would be found in our schools. 
There are many ways in which scholarship becomes a 
positive factor in the success of the school. 

(i) Scholarship Creates Interest in School Work. — Rab- 
bi Hirsch has said that the reason why so many boys 
leave school early is because the ordinary school routine 
is absolutely without interest to the average boy. As 



TEACHERS MUST HAVE SCHOLARSHIP 17 

a remedy for this condition, it has been urged that 
our courses of study should contain manual training, 
domestic science, agriculture, drawing, and a great 
many other things. But the surest remedy for this 
lack of interest is to put a live, well-qualified teacher in 
every school, for a teacher who cannot interest boys and 
girls in a good reading lesson will not succeed any bet- 
ter in attempting to teach manual training or agricul- 
ture. 

Interest is not in the studies alone, nor is it in the 
pupils alone, but it grows out of the attitude of the 
pupil toward his studies. The teacher creates this atti- 
tude, and thereby secures interest. By the fulness and 
freshness of his knowledge, by his own interest, zeal, 
and enthusiasm, by the aptness of his illustrations, he 
arouses the pupil's mind, challenges him to earnest 
effort, reveals to him the value of knowledge, so that 
study becomes a pleasure to him and school life seems 
worth while. 

(2) Scholarship Prevents Disorder. — Just in so far as 
pupils become interested in their school work will tardi- 
ness, irregular attendance, laziness, disobedience, and 
disorder disappear. Pupils will feel a genuine pride in 
the success and good name of the school. They will 
co-operate willingly with the teacher in all plans for the 
progress of the school. They will talk of their work 
when they go home, and parents will catch the spirit of 
helpfulness, and public opinion will be on the side of the 
teacher in maintaining order and enforcing necessary 
regulations. 

(3) Scholarship Commands Respect and Confidence. — 
Such confidence is just as essential in a school as it is in 
an army. The road to knowledge is not always plain 



18 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and easy. Pupils see no familiar landmarks; they get 
lost, or become discouraged. At such times confidence 
in their teacher and in his ability to bring them out all 
right in the end is their strong support. But what if 
they see him constantly falter and blunder? What 
if they hear him mispronounce the commonest words 
and violate the simplest rules of grammar? "What is 
the use of going to school any more ? I know more than 
the teacher does now," said a ten-year-old boy to his 
father. A little girl in the fourth grade remarked: "I 
don't think the teacher is fair, because she always tells 
us in class to shut our geography, and then she opens 
hers, and she is older than we are, too." 

It is not true that a teacher can succeed in spite of 
poor scholarship. He may "keep school," but he can- 
not teach school, and his errors and low ideals are per- 
petuated in his pupils. Nor is this all. If an army 
loses faith in its commander, disobedience, cowardice, 
mutiny, and desertion are sure to follow. And these 
same evils will inevitably appear in any school where 
the pupils have lost confidence in the teacher. 

(4) Scholarship Secures and Holds Attention in Class. — 
Any teacher who fails to secure and hold the attention 
of pupils in the recitation is a complete failure. Pupils 
are often present in the class in body but absent in 
spirit, and therefore derive no benefit from the recita- 
tion. They remember nothing clearly, for they neither 
saw nor heard anything vividly. They receive no in- 
spiration for their next recitation. They become list- 
less, dull, discouraged. 

To secure and hold the attention of a class of children 
is a difficult thing, and no teacher can do this successfully 
unless he is in a great measure independent of the text- 



TEACHERS MUST HAVE SCHOLARSHIP 19 

book. If young teachers only understood the added 
freedom and power that come to one who is able to put 
aside the book during class work and to teach the lesson 
out of a full knowledge of the subject, they would value 
scholarship much more than they now do. The teacher 
whose eyes are not confined to the text-book, but are 
free to watch the faces of his pupils, has more than 
doubled his teaching power. He is free to adapt his 
questions to the needs of the individual pupils, to furnish 
proper explanations of the difficult points in the lesson, 
to check inattention, and to keep the thought of the whole 
class on the work in hand. Such a teacher will rarely 
need to complain that pupils are not attentive in class. 

(5) Scholarship Inspires Faithful Study. — Suppose a 
class of active, wide-awake boys and girls to have just 
completed a recitation in geography. The recitation 
has not been a success. The teacher sat at the desk and 
simply asked the questions in the book, giving no il- 
lustrations nor explanations of the text. There had been 
a dispute in the class over the location of some river or 
city, and the teacher had to look a long time to find 
the right answer. Meanwhile the class grew more and 
more restive and disorderly. The teacher became cross 
and scolded the entire class for their poor lessons and 
stupidity. One pupil was sent to his seat. Finally, 
after twenty minutes of such class work, the teacher 
assigned the "next four pages for to-morrow's lesson" 
and dismissed the class. Now watch them as they go 
to their seats with noisy steps, impudent manners, and 
sullen faces. Listen to the slamming of seats and books. 
What inspiration have they received to help them in the 
preparation of their next lesson for the day? What 
rewards have they to look forward to in their next 



20 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

recitation? It is very easy to understand how they will 
spend their next study period. Only a few choice 
spirits among them, who are held to their duty by home 
influence or by an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, 
will take their books and apply themselves to study. 
The others will not study, are soon in mischief, and the 
teacher must scold, threaten, punish, and "keep pupils 
after school to make up lessons." 

On the other hand, imagine these same boys and girls 
to have a teacher whose knowledge of geography is so 
full and fresh that he is able to present the lesson in a 
series of vivid pictures. The text-book becomes alive. 
The recitation proceeds with animated questions, con- 
versation, and discussion. The pupils are happy. The 
teacher carefully assigns the next lesson, and the recita- 
tion closes all too soon. The boys and girls go to their 
seats quietly. They have had a good time, and they 
expect to have a good time in the next recitation. The 
teacher does not need to tell them to go to work, for 
they gladly take their books and put themselves to 
work. The scholarship of the teacher has inspired them 
to faithful and diligent study. 

(6) Scholarship Sets up Ideals to Be Attained. — The 
ideals and standards of children must be in concrete 
form. They must be embodied in living persons. 
Scholarship in the teacher is such a living standard, 
and is a constant reminder to the pupils that such knowl- 
edge is precious and beautiful and greatly to be desired. 
The subtle influence of such an ideal permeates the 
very atmosphere of the school, quickening the intellect 
and strengthening the will of every pupil. 

Conclusion. — These are some of the ways in which 
the scholarship of the teacher reacts helpfully on the 



TEACHERS MUST HAVE SCHOLARSHIP 21 

school. Many others might be given, for there are 
innumerable ways in which a knowledge of the so-called 
higher branches helps the teacher. Reading cannot be 
taught properly by one who is ignorant of rhetoric and 
literature. Geography teaching is sorry work if the 
teacher knows nothing of geology, botany, and his- 
tory. A good knowledge of general history and English 
history is a wonderful help in teaching the history of 
our own country. 

The attainment of real scholarship is, therefore, one 
of the essential steps in transforming the student into 
the teacher. And other things being equal, the success 
of the teacher will be in direct proportion to his ability, 
zeal, accuracy, and faithfulness as a student. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Eliot, "Education for Efficiency"; King, "Social Efficiency, ,, 
chaps. XII, XIII; Page, "Theory and Practice of Teaching,'* 
chaps. V, VI; Cubberley, "Rural Life and Education," chap. 
XII; Bobbitt, "The Curriculum, " chaps. VII, VIII, IX, X; 
White, "School Management," pp. 21-26; Robbins, "The School 
as a Social Institution," chaps. VII, XV; Betts and Hall, "Bet- 
ter Rural Schools," chaps. VI, VIII. 



CHAPTER III 
PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 

Neglect of the Professional Training of Teachers in 
America. — From the reports of the U. S. Commissioner 
of Education we learn that more than 300,000 teachers 
in American public schools have no professional train- 
ing whatever; 150,000 are not old enough to vote; 
30,000 have scarcely an eighth-grade schooling; 200,000 
have less than a high-school education; 150,000 have 
had only two years, or less, of service as teachers. 

In answer to the question, "How is it that while 
children are so intelligent, men are so stupid? " a great 
writer replied, "It must be because of education.' , 

The chief causes of illiteracy in the United States, 
of the ignorance of health laws, of the active disloyalty 
of so many of our citizens, of the inefficiency and cor- 
ruption of local government, and of the astounding 
success of commercial banditry and get-rich-quick con- 
cerns, are: (1) we are a "nation of sixth-graders/' and 
(2) 50 per cent of our voters have been taught by im- 
mature, inexperienced, untrained teachers. Until we 
have a competent, well-trained teacher in every school- 
room we shall not discover the full power of education 
to promote efficient living and good government in our 
democracy. 

The Protest of the Wise. — "That teachers are 'born, 
not made/ has been so fully the world's thought until 
the present century that a study of subjects without 
any study of principles or methods of teaching has been 
deemed quite sufficient." These words are from the 

22 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 23 

"Report of the Committee of Fifteen." But it must 
not be assumed that this has been the thought of the 
world's best and wisest men and women. Against such 
a waste of effort in education the best thinkers in all 
ages have protested. Plato's greatest book is a treatise 
on education. Aristotle considered education as the 
most important and most difficult of all problems. 
Cicero wrote: "It would be absurd to suppose that the 
most trifling employments have their guiding laws and 
principles, and that the training of children, the most 
important work of all, must be given over to chance." 
And wise old Richard Mulcaster, the teacher of Edmund 
Spenser, declared that the "only hope of improving our 
English schools lies in providing training for our teach- 
ers." 

Why Professional Training Has Been Neglected. — In 
the first place, universal education is practically a new 
problem. It is true that Comenius wrote, two hundred 
and fifty years ago: "Not only are the children of the 
rich and noble to be drawn to the school, but all alike, 
gentle and simple, rich and poor, boys and girls, in 
great towns and small, down to the country villages; 
and for this reason, because they are born human be- 
ings." Yet popular education made very little progress 
till the time of Pestalozzi. This great teacher, who has 
with justice been called the "father of the public school," 
died in 1827. Since his time every civilized nation has 
become interested in the education of the common peo- 
ple, and in nearly all countries great school systems, con- 
trolled by the state, have been founded. Very natur- 
ally the material phases of the great problems of popu- 
lar education claimed attention first. How to organize 
school systems; how to plan the work of school officers; 



24 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

how to provide school funds, build school-houses, pre- 
pare courses of study — all these problems had to be 
worked out. 

Conditions in the United States. — In our own country 
until within a few years the school education of children 
was a matter of secondary importance. Indeed, many 
of our great men, men like Jackson, Clay, and Lincoln, 
had practically no schooling at all. There were few 
public high schools. The school year was short. The 
course of study was limited to the three R's. Boys 
studied manual training and agriculture in the shops 
and on the farm. Girls practised domestic science in 
the home. Parents taught their children industry, 
morals, and religion in the family. Fifty years ago 
society in the United States was vastly less complex 
than it is now. There was no large wealthy leisure 
class. Great factories, shops, department stores, and 
corporations were unknown. People lived in closer 
contact with nature. The world's work was done by 
hand rather than by machinery. Poverty was the 
rule, and the opportunities and temptations to graft and 
dishonesty were not so apparent as they now are. Law- 
yers and doctors entered upon the practice of their so- 
called professions with little more preparation than to 
"read" law or medicine. 

Teaching Rather a Primitive Work. — It is easy to see 
that under these conditions the burden of the public 
school was not very great. People did not demand very 
much of it. If their children learned to read, to write, 
to spell, and to cipher, they were satisfied; and, as the 
ordinary methods in use were purely mechanical, they 
naturally concluded that any one having sufficient 
knowledge could teach school, or, in other words, "hear 
recitations." And in spite of changed conditions, in 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 25 

spite of the fact that society constantly demands more 
and more of the schools, in spite of the heroic labors 
of Horace Mann, Henry Barnard, and hundreds of 
other men for the professional education of teachers, 
the tremendous and significant fact is that the majority 
of our teachers still get all their professional education 
at the expense of the children that they teach — expense 
that cannot be measured in money, for it costs time and 
energy and human life. This is our great educational 
waste. 

Changed Conditions Demand Professionally Trained 
Teachers. — Hitherto we have hardly considered the 
deeper social, industrial, and spiritual problems of edu- 
cation. The material phases of popular education have 
absorbed our attention. But now school systems have 
been organized in every State in the Union; school 
funds have been provided; school machinery has been 
perfected. We must next give our attention to the less 
obvious, but far deeper, spiritual phases of the great 
problem of universal education, and this is so because 
of the tremendous social, economic, and moral changes 
in our modern civilization. 

Pioneer life has almost disappeared. People flock to 
our cities. Society is rapidly growing more complex. 
The division of labor has made specialization a ne- 
cessity. Girls as well as boys go out from the home to 
earn a livelihood, and home ties are broken earlier in 
life than in former times, for the world's work now is 
done largely in shops and mills, in factories and offices. 
This in-door work makes great demands upon the physi- 
cal endurance of the workers. Machinery, too, is con- 
stantly becoming more costly and complex, and this de- 
mands greater skill and intelligence in those who use 
it. Those forms of wealth that can be easily concealed 



26 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and readily carried are multiplying so that temptations 
to dishonesty, petty thieving, and burglary abound on 
every hand. 

Functions of the School Greatly Broadened. — Our 
schools reflect these great changes in our modern social 
structure. Courses of study consist no longer of the 
three R's, but include preparation in all that the people 
demand of the individual in society. Herbert Spencer's 
well-known definition of education as "preparation for 
complete living " means vastly more than it did a half- 
century ago. The public school has broadened its func- 
tions. It has been required to assume more and more 
the duties and functions of the home, the Church, and 
the Sunday-school. The public schools must teach 
physical training, sewing, cooking, hand-work, music, 
drawing, manners, and morals. The school takes the 
child out of the home earlier and keeps him longer than 
formerly. In fact, the school almost completely ab- 
sorbs the child's energy and time, so it has come to pass 
that what the child does not get from the public school 
to prepare him for life he is in great danger of missing 
entirely. 

Why the Training of Teachers Is so Essential. — From 
the foregoing discussion the great need for trained teach- 
ers can be seen very readily. The teachers who simply 
"hear recitations" are out of date. Imparting knowl- 
edge is not the only, nor even the chief, function of the 
school, for there is no other time and no other place in 
our social economy in which the child can acquire disci- 
pline and form the habits of industry, honesty, and self- 
control so essential to success in life. The modern school 
has become a very complex affair, and the work of the 
teacher is correspondingly more difficult, for he must 
now train the body for strength and health, the hands to 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 27 

do, the mind to think, and the heart to respond to right 
motives. This is no simple task. It ought not to be 
undertaken lightly. It demands professional training 
as well as scholarship. It calls for a knowledge of the 
science and the art of teaching. 

What Professional Training Includes. — I. The sci- 
ence of teaching includes: (i) Psychology, which must 
always serve as a basis and a test of principles and 
methods of teaching; (2) Method, as a means and a 
guide in teaching and in making effective the principles 
and laws derived from psychology; (3) School Manage- 
ment, which seeks to adjust the agents, conditions, and 
factors of the school so that they shall all co-operate in 
the instruction and training of the child; (4) History of 
Education, to bring the student into sympathetic re- 
lation with the world's great teachers so that he may 
catch something of their ideals, enthusiasm, and self- 
sacrifice. 

II. The art of teaching is best acquired (1) by ob- 
serving good teaching, making lesson plans under gui- 
dance, and discussing the plans and work of other 
teachers; (2) by practice- teaching under competent and 
sympathetic supervision. 

Advantages of Professional Training. — Edward Ev- 
erett said: "What considerate person can enter a school 
and not reflect, with awe, that it is a seminary where 
immortal minds are training for eternity ? " 

The average young teacher does not have this inspir- 
ing view of his work. This is especially true if he has 
entered upon his work with no professional training and 
has not even read the current pedagogical literature. 
The signs of the times indicate that the people will 
soon demand a minimum amount of professional train- 
ing of all those who aspire to teach. All teachers should 



28 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

welcome the time when such a requirement becomes a 
law in every State, for, if faithfully complied with, it 
would secure many advantages to both teachers and 
pupils. 

(i) It Would Prevent Failure. — A young man who be- 
came one of the best teachers I ever knew entered upon 
his work with a third-grade certificate and with no pro- 
fessional training whatever. The school was a large one 
and a "hard" one. No young man ever worked harder 
or more conscientiously. But after five weeks of painful 
effort — "five of the unhappiest weeks of all my life" — as 
he often says, he was forced to resign, an utter failure. 
He went back to the farm completely discouraged. His 
ideals were all shattered, his hopes crushed, his future 
dark. He had planned to take a college course, but he 
gave up all his school plans, all his dreams of being a 
teacher. One day a former teacher of his came to see 
him, a teacher that he greatly loved and admired. She 
drew from him the wretched story of his failure, and so 
tactful were her words and so real her sympathy that she 
obtained his promise to go on with his college course. 
And her one vital question that secured the promise was 
this: "You have failed, but why should you wonder at 
that? Had you ever studied what you tried to do, or 
read a single book on teaching?" No, he had not. He 
went back to school, read everything on teaching he could 
find, at the end of a year secured another school, and was 
astonished at his own success — success in the highest and 
truest sense, that has made him one of the best-known and 
best-loved teachers of his State. 

Professional study and training allied to good scholar- 
ship give the safest and quickest road to what is commonly 
called " success" as a teacher, meaning simply good posi- 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 29 

tions and good pay. Both time and money are saved to 
the teacher by such preparation. Many young people with 
high hopes and aspirations enter upon the work of teach- 
ing without sufficient preparation, are discouraged by their 
total or partial failure, and drop out of the work entirely « 
They really had no right to expect success. 

(2) Health is Saved by Such Preparation.— Teaching is 
wearing work at best, and makes large demands upon the 
nervous power and vitality of the teacher. Under the 
strain and confinement of teaching thousands of young 
people break down in health. 

But it is the worry and irritation rather than the work 
of teaching that kills, and the direct cause of very much of 
the worry is the fact that young people undertake to do 
what they do not know how to do. Children find the 
school work irksome, and make trouble. Parents are 
dissatisfied. Criticism of the teacher abounds on all 
sides; and all of these influences react with crushing force 
upon the temper, the cheerfulness, and the health of the 
teacher. 

(3) Untrained Teachers Have no Correct Standards. — 
Without some professional study and training, teachers 
have no correct standard of what good teaching is. They 
are utterly helpless to correct their own mistakes, for they 
are not conscious of them, and may go on day after 
day committing the same errors and all the while won- 
dering what is the matter with the school. And it will 
not do to say to such teachers: "Just use common-sense 
and all will be well." Better say that it is not common- 
sense to undertake a great and difficult work that one does 
not know how to do. Common-sense alone does not build 
Brooklyn bridges, Siberian railways, or Panama canals* 
Common-sense alone would teach us that the earth is flat 



30 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and that the sun revolves about the earth. Science must 
come to the aid of common-sense to accomplish any im- 
portant work. So it is in teaching. To say that " teacher?, 
are born, not made," sounds like an apology for indolence 
or ignorance. Neglect to study the science and art o^ 
teaching means that the teacher has no correct standards 
of what real teaching is, remains unconscious of mistake?; 
and must, at the very best, simply blunder his way into 
success. 

(4) Experience Alone is Not Sufficient. — No amount of 
such unsupervised teaching alone makes one a good 
teacher. It rather prevents one from becoming a good 
teacher. True it is that by faithful study of the principles 
of teaching after one begins the work of the teacher, and 
by using all the means of professional training that one 
can command, the lack of previous preparation may be 
largely overcome; but not one teacher m twenty will put 
forth the effort necessary to do this. Thus their experience 
as teachers is of no value to them, for their mistakes and 
errors in teaching soon develop into habits hard to break. 
Most of them really dislike the work of teaching and 
leave it as soon as possible for other vocations; or. if 
they continue in the work, they are absolutely without 
professional zeal, become purely mechanical in their 
methods, and only serve to keep down wages and perpet 
uate stupidity. 

(5) It Would Tend to Prevent Costly Experimenting on 
Pupils. — Many of the States have passed compulsory edu- 
cation laws. Since the State demands that parents shall 
send their children to school, why have not parents the 
right to insist that the State shall provide competent and 
trained teachers for these children? Yet some States 
have never fixed by law the minimum requirements of 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 31 

teachers, either in scholarship or professional training. 
As far back as Queen Elizabeth's reign a wise old English 
school-master, Richard Mulcaster, wrote: "I conclude, 
therefore, that preparation for teaching requireth a par- 
ticular college for these four reasons: First, for the sub- 
ject being the means to make or mar all the children of 
our state. Secondly, for the number, whether of them 
that are to learn or of them that are to teach. Thirdly, 
for the necessity of the profession, which may not be 
spared. Fourthly, for the matter of their study, which is 
equal to the greatest professions, for language, for judg- 
ment, for skill how to train, for variety in all points of 
learning, wherein the framing of the mind and the exer- 
cising of the body crave exquisite consideration, as well 
as the stability of character of the person." 

From every point of view it is perfectly clear that every 
young person who aspires to teach should acquire some 
professional training before entering upon the work of the 
teacher. And it is a peculiar, survival of narrowness and 
prejudice that so many colleges and universities fail to 
recognize that such studies and training are as valuable, 
for both knowledge and discipline, as any other studies in 
the course. Professors who pride themselves on their 
ignorance of pedagogy, and look down with lofty contempt 
upon the normal-school graduate, should ponder these 
words of Herbert Spencer: "No rational plea can be put 
forward for leaving the art of education out of our curric- 
ulum. Whether as bearing upon the happiness of parents 
themselves, or whether as affecting the character and lives 
of their children and remote descendants, we must admit 
that a knowledge of the right methods of juvenile culture, 
physical, intellectual, and moral, is a knowledge second to 
none in importance." 



32 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Means of Securing Professional Training. — The first 
state normal school in the United States was located at 
Lexington, Massachusetts. It was opened July 3, 1839, 
with three students. Its objects were to give (1) a careful 
review of the studies taught in the public schools from the 
stand-point of teaching them to others; (2) a study of 
psychology to understand correct principles of teaching 
and right methods; (3) a practical application of these 
principles and methods in practice work; (4) a careful 
study of the history of education and the school laws of 
the State; (5) a high estimate of the importance and 
responsibility of the teacher's work, and an enthusiasm 
for it. 

Slowly, but surely, the people are realizing the value 
of professional training for all teachers and are providing 
better and better means for such training. The heroic work 
of Horace Mann is bearing fruit in the founding of State 
normal schools, city training schools, and chairs of pedagogy 
in our universities. Many high schools, even in our smaller 
cities, provide for a year's work along professional lines 
for the students expecting to teach. It is no longer neces- 
sary to learn to teach at the expense of the children, that is, 
to learn to teach by teaching without previous training 
and without help, advice, or supervision. While it is not 
true as yet that professional training insures permanence 
of position and adequate pay, still the trend of public 
opinion is along this line, and thousands of choice, earnest 
young people are preparing themselves for the noble calling 
of the teacher, trusting that there will soon be a more 
generous recognition by the people of the value of the 
trained teacher. But these same young people will be 
doomed to disappointment, and will bring reproach upon 
the professional training of teachers, if they make the 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 33 

mistake of supposing that as soon as they graduate 
from normal schools and become teachers they can cease 
to be students. No means of growth, either in schol- 
arship or professional attainments, can be neglected by 
any one who hopes to achieve the best and highest 
success. 

Professional Growth While Teaching. — Some years ago 
I was conducting a county institute in Iowa. A young 
man, a normal-school graduate, was the superintendent of 
schools in one of the largest towns in the county, but the 
county superintendent had never given him work in the 
institute. One day I suggested to the county superinten- 
dent that it would be very fitting to invite Professor B. 
to work in the institute the next year; but the emphatic 
reply was: "No, I shall not give him work in this insti- 
tute, for he has never shown a particle of interest in the 
professional work in the county. He did not even attend 
a teachers' association that I held in his own town, and I 
had put him on the programme at that! " Of course I had 
to acknowledge that the criticism was just. 

It is no disparagement of professional training to say that 
no student can really complete his training for teaching 
in any college or normal school. Practice teaching is an 
invaluable aid, but it cannot do everything. The student 
must be thrust out by himself to work out his own salvation. 
Only so can he develop initiative, skill as an organizer, 
power as a manager and disciplinarian, and ability to make 
friends of the school patrons. He must learn to depend 
upon himself. All helps, lesson plans, model exercises, 
kindly criticism, and advice are to be withdrawn, and he 
must stand on his own feet. He must still be a student 
in a higher and better sense than ever before, for now he 
has gained the power to teach himself. 



34 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Means of Professional Growth Open to the Teacher at 
Work. — The means of professional improvement are 
varied and are close at hand. Thrice happy the teacher 
whose training in the normal school has prepared him to 
turn them all to account in perfecting his professional 
education. 

(i) By Daily Practice in Teaching. — Not just one or 
two exercises each day, as was the case in the practice 
school, are now required of the teacher, but from five or 
six classes to twenty, or even twenty-five, classes. And 
these classes may comprise all the studies in the curriculum. 
What an opportunity for practice ! Here is a field in which 
to test educational principles, apply methods, experiment 
with devices, and study psychology at close range. No 
time is given to the teacher to write out lesson plans now; 
there are no model teachers to observe, no critics to point 
out errors, no study periods between classes, no one to 
appeal to in case of doubt. And yet the well-trained 
teacher carries the burden easily, without hurry or fretting, 
for there is a feeling of conscious power and mastery, and 
an eager desire to make each recitation an improvement 
on the last one. 

(2) By Studying Professional Books. — Every teacher 
should aim to acquire a select working library, and he 
should form the habit of professional reading. Only thus 
can he keep from stagnation and retain the consciousness 
of growth. He will find such reading a constant help in 
his daily work, keeping him out of the ruts, suggesting 
new applications of old principles, and revealing to him 
the deeper truths that underlie all education. Teachers* 
reading circles have done much to stimulate young teachers 
along the line of professional and general reading, and every 
teacher ought to plan to read at least some of the books 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 35 

In these yearly courses. It is the books that we read again 
and again that most influence our lives. 

(3) By Reading Current Educational Papers, — It is of 
great importance that the teacher should keep in touch 
with current educational thought and progress. He must 
know what other teachers are doing. He should be able 
to select wisely the plans, exercises, methods, devices, and 
programmes in these journals that apply to his own work, 
and adapt them to meet the needs of his school and 
community. 

(4) By Visiting Other Schools. — Opportunities for visit- 
ing other schools are frequent, and teachers should always 
make the most of such opportunities. These visits can be 
made very helpful as a means of professional growth, for 
teachers will find in every school that they visit some 
methods and devices very different from their own — some 
better, others not so good. In all such visits, assume the 
attitude of the learner, not that of the critic. Surely no 
worthy or sensible teacher will indulge in unkind criticism 
of the schools and teachers whose work is being inspected 
or make himself obnoxious in any way. 

(5) By Attending Institutes and Associations. — Institutes 
have been defined as "normal schools with a very short 
course." They are becoming less academic and more 
professional each year. The institute will be an educa- 
tional necessity as long as teachers are not required to have 
professional training before entering upon their work. It 
ought not to be necessary to compel young teachers to 
attend these institutes and associations, for the help, per- 
sonal acquaintance, and inspiration received repay the 
time and effort required many fold. 

All these means of professional improvement, and all 
**her means at the teacher's command, should be utilized. 



36 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

A teacher's growth ought never to cease. He ought not to 
"die at the top." His face should always be toward the 
rising sun, for he is the soul of our educational system. 
He is the pupils' model, instructor, leader, guide, and 
friend. He should be a teacher in fact and in spirit, not 
in name only. No work is more dignified, more important, 
more holy. It took a perfect man to deserve the title. 
"The Great Teacher." 

An English writer has said: "Educational salvation 
lies, not in bricks and mortar, nor in sumptuous equip- 
ment, nor in courses of study on paper, nor in elaborate 
machinery of whatever kind, but in the subtle influence, 
of informed and cultured men and women upon the pupils 
committed to their care. However thoroughly and liber- 
ally public authorities discharge their school duties in 
other respects, all is in vain unless the ranks of the teaching 
profession, in its various grades, are so recruited that the 
daily work of the schools is done with knowledge, skill, 
and sympathy. To have built schools, to have filled them 
with pupils, and to have devised means of supervision, are 
all excellent things in themselves — as machinery. It is 
the teacher alone who can supply the driving power." 

A Final Word from W. T. Harris. — In a discussion of 
elementary education in the United States, W. T. Harris 
said: "The most important item of improvement that 
belongs to the recent history of education is the introduc- 
tion of professionally trained teachers. It is the experi- 
ence of school superintendents that graduates of normal 
schools continue to improve in skill and efficiency for 
many years. Such a teacher is constantly increasing his 
number of successful devices to secure good behavior 
without harsh measures, and to secure industry and critical 
attention to study. Every normal school has a thorough 



PROFESSIONAL TRAINING AND GROWTH 37 

course of study in the elementary branches, taking them 
up in view of the higher branches from which they are 
derived and explaining their difficult topics. This kind 
of work prepares the teacher in advance for the mis- 
haps of the pupil and arms him with the skill to assist 
self-activity by teaching the pupil to analyze his problem 
into its elements. He can divide each step that is too 
long for the pupil to take into its component steps, down 
to any required degree of simplicity. The profession- 
ally trained teacher, too, other things being equal, has 
a better idea than other teachers of the educational 
value of a branch of study. He knows what points are 
essential and what are accidental and subordinate. 
He therefore makes his pupils thoroughly acquainted 
with those strategic positions and shows them how to 
conquer all the rest through these." 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Sears, "Classroom Organization and Control," chaps. XVI, 
XVII, XIX; U. S. Bureau of Education, "The National Crisis in 
Education," Bulletin No. 29, 1920; Bagley, "Classroom Man- 
agement," chap. XVI; Dewey, "Democracy and Education," 
chap. IV; Judd, "Introduction to the Scientific Study of Educa- 
tion," chap. XXIII; Davis, "The Work of the Teacher," chap. 
XII; Cubberley, "Rural Life and Education," chaps. I, II; U. 
S. Bureau of Education, "Training Courses for Rural Teachers," 
Bulletin No. 2, 1913; Page, "Theory and Practice of Teaching," 
chaps. I, II; Palmer, "The Teacher," chap. I; Home, "The 
Teacher as Artist." 



CHAPTER IV 
THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 

The Third Requisite of the Teacher's Preparation. — The 

real teacher must know what he is to teach; how he is to 
teach; and whom he is to teach. In other words, he must 
have scholarship, professional training, and knowledge of 
children. 

That parents are wofully deficient in the knowledge and 
ability necessary to train their own children properly is 
universally admitted. But if we except the one point of 
scholarship, or the knowledge of books, it is probably true 
that the average parent is better qualified to train his own 
children than the average young teacher is to train properly 
the children of other people. Love for their children par- 
ents have, for love grows with sacrifice, and years of sacri- 
ficing love are required of every parent before the child is 
brought up to school age. But there is no certainty that 
the teacher will love his pupils. He has made no sacrifice 
for them. He may not understand them at all. George 
Macdonald said: "The woman who takes into her heart 
her own children may be a very ordinary woman; but the 
woman who takes into her heart the children of others, 
she is one of God's mothers." 

"In Loco Parentis." — By custom, school laws, and 
court decisions the teacher's relation to the pupil is defined 
in these three words, in loco parentis. But, unfortunately, 
too many teachers think of this relation as a merely legal 

38 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 39 

one — a relation that gives them the right to punish, strike, 
or beat a child without making themselves liable to arrest 
for " assault and battery." This is a most pitiful and dis- 
torted view of the teacher's relation to the child. It is, 
in truth, a frightful parody of the words " in the place of 
the parent." When a teacher assumes the rights of a 
parent toward his pupils, he must also assume obligations 
similar to those of the parent. He is under obligation 
to be tolerant of weakness, patient with the dull, hopeful 
for the wayward, lenient to the mischievous, impartial and 
sympathetic with all. He must be kind even in punishing, 
and by degrees he must acquire that almost divine char- 
acteristic of the true parent — the power to love an unlova- 
ble child. 

The word parent includes both father and mother, and 
the teacher stands in the place of both. He represents 
the authority of the father and the love of the mother. He 
represents the united counsels and efforts of both to care 
for the child's health, to shield his heart from evil, to reveal 
the book of nature and the wisdom of the ages to his mind, 
to win him to pure thoughts and kindly deeds, to call out 
the best that is in him, and to fill his school life with joy 
and happiness — this is a part of what it means to stand in 
loco parentis to the child. No teacher can do this unless 
he studies children, learns to know them, to aspire for 
them, to believe in them, to sympathize with them, to 
sacrifice for them, to love them. 

A Costly Blunder. — The greatest crime of society has 
been its neglect and abuse of little children. Not always 
have even Christian nations remembered the words of the 
Great Teacher: "Even so it is not the will of your father 
which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should 
perish." It was a great theological teacher who wrote: 



40 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

" Since every child is born totally depraved, his will must 
be broken through stripes and blows and rough usage, his 
natural inclinations thwarted, and his childish affections 
repressed." But even this view of the child is nearer the 
truth than the theory of some modern scientists who teach 
that the child is born a savage. "Is there in sober truth," 
asks one of these writers, "any other living creature's 
offspring so passionate, so selfish, so noisy, so trouble- 
some, so exacting, so offensive in some respects as the 
human baby?" 

Perhaps such views of child nature explain why society 
has permitted commercial greed to send little children to 
work in damp mines and dangerous factories for cruel 
masters and under strange overseers. 

Results of Neglecting the Child. — Society reaps a terrible 
harvest for its neglect and abuse of little children. "In 
all the years that I have served on the criminal bench one 
thought has been constantly uppermost in my mind. I 
have never tried a criminal case or sentenced a criminal 
to the penitentiary or worse, but I have felt like a giant, 
placed there by society to take its revenge for what society 
itself has made." This is the statement made recently 
by Judge Tuley, of Chicago, in discussing the necessity 
for immediate action for the salvation of friendless and 
wayward boys. "If I were asked to name one product 
of vice and crime that would soonest touch the hearts of 
all good people, I would say a neglected child. Every case 
of vagabondage has its root in some neglected child," said 
W. T. Harris. In "Bleak House," Charles Dickens 
voiced the same thought in describing the conditions of 
child life in the slums of London: "There is not an atom 
of Tom's slime, not a cubic inch of any pestilential gas in 
which he lives, not an obscenity or degradation about him, 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 41 

not an ignorance, not a wickedness, not a brutality of his 
committing, but shall work its retribution through every 
order of society up to the proudest of the proud and to the 
highest of the high." 

The Great Defect of the Old Education.— The old edu- 
cation took little pains to understand children. The State 
took no interest in primary education. Educational 
writers spoke of the younger pupils as the " fag-end" of 
the school for whom little could be done. 

Fenelon said of the schools of his time: "There is no 
liberty, no enjoyment, but always lessons, silence, uncom- 
fortable postures, correction, and threats." "Day and 
night," complains one teacher, "we do not cease to chastise 
the children confided to our care, and they grow worse 
and worse." In writing of a boys' school, Montaigne says: 
"It is the true home of correction of imprisoned youth. 
Do but come in when they are about their lessons, and you 
shall hear nothing but the outcries of boys under execution 
and the thundering noise of their teachers, drunk with 
fury. A pretty way this is to tempt these tender and 
timorous souls to love their books, with a furious counte- 
nance and a rod in hand." No wonder that such schools 
were schools of vice, that knowledge learned was soon 
forgotten, that pupils hated schools and teachers, and that 
teaching was usually a degrading and despised vocation. 

The New Education Based upon a Knowledge of Chil- 
dren. — Rousseau was the first great writer to insist that 
education should be based wholly upon the nature of 
the being to be educated. His book, "Emile," has been 
called the "gospel of educational freedom for the child." 
According to Rousseau, the child is not all bad. He is 
made bad by bad example and wrong education. He is 
punished before he is able to know his faults. His first 



42 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

gifts are chains. His desires are crossed at every stage. 
We make him bad, and then complain of finding him 
so. The child has a tendency to grow into the type of 
the race, and this is the education that nature gives; but 
we thwart nature at every step, and then are surprised that 
the result is deformity. Nature would have children to be 
children before being men. Childhood has its own way 
of seeing, thinking, and feeling, and nothing is more foolish 
than to try to substitute our ways for them. 

The true aim of education is not knowledge, but how to 
live. The common vocation of all men is manhood, and 
whoever is well trained for that cannot fulfil badly any 
work he may do. To live is not to breathe; it is to make 
use of our organs, of our senses, of our faculties, of every 
element of our nature. This is the trade that the teacher 
has to teach. 

A teacher! It is by considering what he ought to do 
that we shall see what he ought to be. He ought to be a 
father, or more than a father, for his ruling motive must 
be the love of the pupil. Recollect that before presuming 
to form a man, you must become a man yourself; you must 
needs find in yourself the example which you are to propose 
for others. Respect the child's individuality, and leave 
the germ of his character at perfect liberty to unfold itself. 

These thoughts from "Emile" reveal the nature of 
the New Education and disclose a sure basis for a science 
of teaching. Pestalozzi, Froebel, and Herbart built upon 
this foundation. Wherever teachers have caught their 
spirit, school life has been transformed; for interest has 
banished dulness, instruction has been vitalized, and dis- 
cipline has become humane. 

That every child should be educated, that the State 
should provide public schools, that the body must t»e 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 43 

trained as well as the mind, that rich and poor alike must 
be taught to use their eyes and hands, that power is de- 
veloped only through self-activity, that all instruction must 
be adapted to the actual present needs of the pupil, that 
teachers must be professionally trained, and that all 
methods must be based on the laws of the mind — these are 
some of the cardinal principles of the New Education. 

The Modern Teacher Must Study Children. — No one can 
grasp these principles or successfully apply them unless he 
becomes a student of childhood. Insight into child nature 
and sympathy with child life are absolutely essential to 
really successful teaching. Without these, scholarship 
will fail and methods and devices are all in vain. 

Mr. Quick says: "It is our business as teachers to try 
to realize how the world looks from the child's point of 
view. We may know a great many things and be ready 
to teach them, but we shall have little success unless we 
get another knowledge which we can learn only by patient 
observation, a knowledge of the mind of our pupils and 
what goes on there. When we set out on this path, teach- 
ing becomes a new occupation with boundless possibilities 
and unceasing interest in it. Every teacher becomes a 
learner, for we have to study the minds of the young, their 
way of looking at things, their habits, their difficulties, their 
likes and dislikes, how they are stimulated to exertion, how 
they are discouraged, how one mood succeeds another. 
What we need is a knowledge of the child's mind with the 
object of influencing it." 

Aptness to teach and tact in management are the results 
of understanding the stuff with which we work, and "first, 
last, and all the time this stuff is children, or, to put it more 
broadly, human beings." Without this knowledge of 
children one teacher worries, repels, fails; with it, another 



44 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

teacher cheers, inspires, succeeds in the same school. 
Careful and constant study of children will help the teacher 
in many ways. 

(i) To Understand Educational Aims and Values. — 
Aimless teaching is a great educational waste, but a wrong 
aim may be worse than no aim at all. All true aims of 
education grow out of the nature of the child and must 
be in harmony with that nature. These aims are the 
teacher's only true standard by which to measure educa- 
tional values. There is much to learn, and the average 
child's school life is very short. What shall we teach him ? 
What will it pay him best to learn ? Where shall we place 
the emphasis in education? To answer these questions 
intelligently — in other words, to apply a course of study in- 
telligently, or to plan a lesson properly, or to teach inspir- 
ingly — teachers must study their pupils. 

(2) To Avoid Mistakes. — The teacher must realize the 
physical needs of the pupils, know their individual traits, 
understand their nervous temperament, discover their 
physical defects, or run the risk of inflicting upon them 
untold injury. Phelps's teacher whipped him one day 
because she thought he made ugly faces at her when he 
was scolded. All the other children knew that Phelps was 
afflicted with a nervous twitching of the muscles of his face 
when disturbed mentally, but this his teacher had never 
discovered. In spite of the fact that defects of vision and 
hearing are so common among pupils, the unobservmg 
teacher still punishes such pupils for their supposed stupid- 
ity. Often the children with such defects do not know 
that they are defective. 

A teacher who understands the nature of the nervous 
system will know that physical health and strength are the 
only sure basis for good mental work; that to the healthy 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 45 

child, play and activity are as necessary as food; that every 
mental act leaves an impress upon brain cells; that fatigue 
lessens the power of attention, weakens the memory, and 
decreases power of will; and that the work of the school 
should be done under as favorable conditions as possible, 
with the minimum of fretting, worry, and irritation. Such 
a teacher will look well to the proper heating and ventila- 
tion of the school-room. He will give attention to the 
seating of pupils, their habits of sitting and standing, their 
breathing, their signs of fatigue. He will not expect as 
vigorous work late in the afternoon as in the early part of 
the day, and will seldom keep pupils after school to make 
up time worse than wasted, it may be, during school 
hours. 

Above all, the teacher who studies his pupils carefully 
will avoid the mistake of assuming that children can be 
easily deceived. His attitude toward them will not be 
one of suspicion and distrust, but of frankness and sym- 
pathy. He will not punish actions till he inquires into 
motives. He will make some allowance for childish igno- 
rance, faults, failings, and thoughtlessness, for all these are 
quite characteristic of grown-up folks. And he will not 
forget that the pupil probably reads the mind of his teacher 
better than the teacher understands the mind and heart 
of the child. 

Henry Sabin says: "Children are living, sentient flesh 
and blood; they have bodies to be cared for and trained, 
minds to learn and expand, hearts to love or hate, souls to 
aspire. They read character as a book; they are quick 
to respond; they meet distrust with distrust; they greet 
confidence with confidence; they measure out hate for 
hate and love for love. Of all time in a child's life, that 
spent in school is the most precious." 



46 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(3) To Select and Apply "Methods" and Devices In- 
telligently. — "Methods" and devices can never be a suc- 
cessful substitute for scholarship and knowledge of cmT 
dren. They are not meant to be the veneer of ignorance. 
They cannot be acquired by imitation, for they are from 
within and not from without. Correct method in teaching is 
based upon fundamental laws and principles. These laws 
and principles are derived from the nature of the mind, not 
solely nor chiefly the adult, mature, finished mind, but 
the unformed, immature, yet developing mind of the child. 
To acquire these laws and principles, teachers must study 
children, not simply books about children, but real, live ; 
ordinary boys and girls. Some teachers who have never 
studied psychology from any book become skilful instruc- 
tors, and the unthinking critic concludes that psychology 
has no message for teachers. But the fact is that all 
teachers are forced to study psychology first hand, and 
some of them acquire unusual power to understand chil- 
dren and to select and apply teaching devices successfully. 
Every teacher who does not by some means acquire 
this knowledge of children must select his material % 
methods, and devices without any definite principles 1;o 
guide him. It is also apt to be the case that the teacher 
who selects so-called methods and exercises in this indis- 
criminate fashion will find some of them more interesting 
or easier to manipulate or more showy than others ar\d 
will use them for the express purpose of making a show 
when visitors are present, thus teaching his pupiis most 
effective lessons in sham, dishonesty, and fraud. 

(4) To Consciously Shape the Character of the Child. — 
All the greatest educators practically agree that the supreme 
aim of education is morality, or character. Now character 
is a plant of slow growth. It is the result of all the influ- 






THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 47 



ences that have come into the child's life through heredity, 
environment, and education. How much the school can 
do for the child is a disputed question. Those who 
believe in the omnipotence of heredity leave very little 
place for making character through the training of home 
and school. Such writers say that what nature has denied 
to a man, education cannot give him, that his destiny is 
determined by heredity, and they point to the notorious 
Juke family to prove their contention. They claim that 
the neglect of heredity is the source of many false educa- 
tional theories, such as regarding the child's mind as a 
tabula rasa, wax to receive impressions, clay in the hands 
of the potter, or marble out of which the teacher may 
carve an angel. 

On the other hand, the believers in the power of favor- 
able environment teach that we can make of the child 
about what we will. They say that the doctrine of 
heredity, as usually held, does not apply to children as it 
does to the lower animals, for any such application would 
render even the wisest efforts of training useless. "For 
if at birth the child's bodily and mental organization is 
complete, if the acquired characteristics of parents are 
handed down to offspring, then there the matter ends. 
Every remarkable parent would have equally remarkable 
children, and every deficient person would curse his de- 
scendants by a like deficiency. Work, training, striving 
after noble ideals would be useless and silly." They say 
that the trouble with the little Jukes was that they lived 
too long with the big Jukes. 

There should be no quarrel between the advocates of 
heredity and those of environment. The safe way lies 
between these two extremes. The former should preach 
the doctrine of a better fatherhood and a more intelligent 



48 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

motherhood, and the latter should unite in a crusade for a 
purer early environment for every child in the home and 
in the school and on the street, more kindergartens and 
better primary schools. Thus we shall see more clearly 
both the limitations and the possibilities of the school. 
If we must err on either side, I consider it far safer to 
insist that the school can do very much to change the 
child's capabilities, character, and destiny. If we teachers 
have any right to draw public money it is because we help 
the child to become something that he never could become 
without us—something wiser, something better, something 
more useful, something happier. How do we do this? 
We do it by causing the pupil to feel, to think, and to do 
what he never would feel or think or do without the school 
and the teacher. 

No teacher, at least, can afford to adopt the theory that 
heredity is all in all in education. Is it not true that in 
the great majority of our discouraging cases* — our dull, 
wayward, lazy, vicious pupils — we are conscious of the 
fact that we are contending against years of bad home or 
street environment as much as we are against a bad 
heredity ? 

Starting, then, with the firm belief that the teacher and 
the school can do very much to arouse the child's powers, 
change his life for the better, and shape his character aright, 
is it not perfectly clear that the teacher must understand 
him so well that he can consciously direct his feeling, 
thinking, and willing? 

The child is not conscious of his own mental processes- 
he does not know whence they come, nor why he has them, 
nor what he should do with them. He learns because it is 
his nature to be active. He bothers his head very little 
about aims or methods or principles of learning. But 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 49 

the teacher must not be ignorant of all these processes. 
He must know that the child's character will be the result 
of what he thinks and feels and does. In other words, the 
teacher must know how to consciously direct the thinking, 
feeling, and willing of his pupils. To control thus the 
minds of his pupils, the teacher must know their minds. 
He must call forth from them as individuals and as a school 
the reactions or responses that are helpful in shaping their 
character and repress those that are not thus helpful. He 
does this by supplying appropriate stimuli to call forth 
interest, attention, thought, and action as responses to such 
stimuli. If by his superior knowledge, his enthusiasm, 
his skill in teaching he can so present a reading lesson or 
an object lesson that for fifteen minutes the pupils in his 
class give him their interest, their undivided attention, their 
thought, then, and only then, has he become a potent 
factor in making and shaping, according to his own ideals, 
their lives and character. This is true teaching. This 
is character-building. 

Methods of Studying Children. — These methods are 
known by various names; such as the individual method, 
by which is meant the careful record of the events in the 
life of an individual child, and the collective or statistical 
method, which is the examination of a great number of 
children to find out what to expect of the typical child. 

Other methods, or ways, of studying children are by 
making miscellaneous written collections with little regard 
to time or aim; by personal reminiscences of one's own 
childhood; by undirected observation in every-day home 
and school life; by studying the personal letters, journals, 
and biographies of children; by the study of childhood as 
portrayed in art and literature; and by the direct study of 
children through questioning, observation, and experiment. 



50 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Aids to Method. — More important to the ordinary teacher 
than any particular method of study is the spirit and tact- 
fulness used in applying the method. Some one has said : 
"The oldest daughter of a large family will nearly always 
make a good primary teacher." From close association 
with the younger children of the family and attempts to 
play the mother to them, she has unconsciously acquired 
a good knowledge of children. This close association 
with children is a necessary aid to any method. Conver- 
sations with parents, visits to the home of the children, 
keeping a record book, trying to discover the reasons for 
what the child does, and reading some good books on 
child study will often produce a wonderful change in the 
teacher's view of the pupils and transform the spirit of 
his school. This reflex influence of such study upon the 
teacher himself is the most valuable thing about it. If 
undertaken in the right spirit, it will not fail to make him 
more observing of children at all times and in all places; 
it will broaden his sympathy and quicken his love; it will 
give him the power to individualize his pupils and to plan 
for special needs and cases; it will make him alert to dis- 
cover physical defects, fatigue, and nervousness; it will 
keep him from unjust punishments and harshness, and 
reveal to him the beauty and the blessedness of being 
trusted, admired, and loved by God's little ones. 

Results of Teaching without a Knowledge of Children. — 
The results of attempting to train children without under- 
standing them have been pointed out by Herbert Spencer 
in his great book on education: "The right class of facts 
is withheld, while the wrong class is forcibly administered 
in the wrong way and in the wrong order. Second-hand 
facts are taught instead of letting the child use his senses. 
Instruction is carried on with but little reference to the 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 51 

laws of mental development. Nearly every subject taught 
is arranged in abnormal order; definitions and rules and 
principles are put first. Rote learning is the rule. The 
art of applying knowledge is not taught. Most of the 
knowledge gained is dropped from memory as soon as 
examinations are passed. What with perception unnatu- 
rally dulled by early thwarting and a forced attention to 
books; what with the mental confusion produced by teach- 
ing subjects before they can be understood, and in each of 
them giving generalizations before facts; what with mak- 
ing the pupil a mere passive recipient of others' ideas; 
and what with taxing the faculties to excess, there are 
very few minds that become as efficient as they might be." 

Effects of Child Study, Direct and Indirectc — The first 
great wave of enthusiasm for cnild study in this country 
has receded. We have fewer child-study clubs, fewer 
syllabi, fewer publications along this line than we had a 
few years ago. It has even been suggested that the whole 
movement was a "fad" and of little educational value. 
On the contrary, the child-study movement emphasized 
the necessity of reconstructing our entire school system 
on a scientific foundation, and this foundation is and al- 
ways must be the nature and capabilities of the child, or 
the being to be educated. The child-study movement has 
influenced our entire educational theory and practice 
most profoundly, and child study to-day is saner and more 
productive of good than ever before. A brief summary of 
the results of child study will make these facts clear. 

I. Imitation and Motor- Activity in Children are of 
Great Value in Education. — Teachers have discovered that 
imitation and motor-activity are two of the strongest in- 
stincts of the child, and that these instincts may be used 
us a most effective means in the proper education and 



52 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

development of all children. This view of the child as a 
self-active being, always open to receive impressions by 
suggestion and ever striving to express his ideas through 
bodily acts, has profoundly influenced our courses of study 
and our methods of instruction: 

(i) By emphasizing the value of play and by introduc- 
ing the freedom and spirit of the kindergarten into all 
the grades of the school. 

(2) By demanding that since children imitate so freely 
they shall have placed before them only correct models in 
art, music, literature, manners, and morals, and shall be 
safeguarded against coarseness in speech, "rag- time" 
music, bad pictures, and horrible stories. 

(3) By introducing music, drawing, nature study, and 
all forms of hand-work inw our courses of study, in order 
that through his voice, hands, feet, and body the child 
may express himself, clothe his ideas in concrete form, give 
body to spirit and form to thought. This tendency is 
seen in the cutting, modelling, painting, drawing, making, 
singing, and dramatizing which form so large a part of the 
daily work in every up-to-date elementary school. 

(4) By recognizing the utter folly and uselessness of 
attempting to repress the child's motor-activity. For this 
reason the discipline in good schools has been revolution- 
ized. Expression has taken the place of repression. Direc- 
tion of activity has been substituted for suppression. The 
u hear-the-clock-tick" ideal of good order has disappeared. 

II. The Child 1 s Physical Powers Must be Safeguarded. 
•-Child study more than any other cause has led to a 
remarkable improvement in school architecture and school 
sanitation. It has been demonstrated that in children 
vigorous mental action depends upon bodily health and 
exercise. This has been accomplished: 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 53 

(i) By examining great numbers of school-children and 
revealing the alarming prevalence of defects of vision, 
hearing, and physical structure caused by school work 
under improper physical conditions. 

(2) By showing the causes and disastrous effects of 
fatigue, and calling attention to the fact that every form 
and kind of school work require the expenditure of nervous 
energy on the part of the child. 

(3) By disclosing the true principles that ought to govern 
the making of a programme so as to secure the most favor- 
able time of the day for the hardest studies and to apply 
intelligently the old proverb that "a change of work is 
rest." 

(4) By convincing school officers that the money ex- 
pended to secure comfortable seats, proper heating, good 
ventilation, and sufficient light in school-rooms is not 
wasted. 

(5) By emphasizing the need of physical training and 
the desirability of physical examination for all teachers and 
pupils. 

(6) By demanding that methods of teaching shall con- 
form to the laws of the child's physical growth; that the 
larger muscles shall be trained before the finer ones are 
called into action; that over-pressure, worry, and nervous 
strain shall be avoided in every possible way. 

III. Education Must be Based upon the Rational Laws 
of Mental Development. — Child study has revealed some 
of the great laws that govern the child's mental develop- 
ment and given us a rational view of the processes involved 
in this development: 

(1) By proving that the old view of the child's mind is 
entirely inadequate to serve as a foundation for a scientific 
education; that study of the old faculty psychology from 



54 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

text-books merely may be of no value to the teacher; and 
that the problem of elementary education should be 
viewed, not from the stand-point of the finished, matured 
mind, but from that of the growing mind — the mind in 
process of becoming. 

(2) By establishing the principles that every child passes 
through certain quite definite stages of development; that 
this development is, in a general way, and with numerous 
"short cuts," an epitome of the progress of the race; that 
the child's mental and spiritual growth is not a steady and 
continuous progress, but is a rhythmic process consisting 
of alternating epochs of rapid growth and slow growth, and 
varies as greatly as does the child's bodily development; 
that throughout this development of the child new in- 
stincts and capabilities are continually cropping out, so to 
speak, that predispose the mind to receive readily certain 
kinds of instruction; and that to discover the growing- 
point in the child's development, the leading interest, the 
opportune moment for any special kind of mental experi- 
ence, and to suit instruction to this felt need is prime 
educational wisdom on the part of the teacher. 

IV. Systematic Moral Instruction Must Have a Place 
in Our Public Schools, — Child study is preparing the way 
for a correct and effective system of moral training in our 
public schools: 

(1) By demonstrating the need of such training and 
insisting that the law of unity in the child's development 
precludes the possibility of segregating the child's moral 
education from his physical and intellectual growth; that 
morality cannot be taught as a mere abstraction apart from 
real life, nor acquired as an accomplishment after the shild 
has finished his intellectual education; that the child is a 
moral being in the school as well as in the home and the 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 55 

Sunday-school, and that moral impulses and emotions 
must find expression in right conduct if they are to become 
a permanent part of the child's character. 

(2) By calling the attention of teachers and parents to 
the importance of the period of adolescence in the moral 
development of boys and girls. It is, in fact, a rebirth, a 
making over, a period of self-discovery. Many children 
at this epoch seem to acquire entirely new physical and 
moral characteristics. Their ideals change. Old interests 
disappear and new instincts are born. It is a period of 
unrest, of uncomprehended longings, of desires for new 
experiences, new scenes, new companions. It is a time 
of doubt, of reaction against authority, of debate and 
speculation. If properly taught and guided by wise and 
sympathetic teachers and parents during this critical period, 
the moral trend is upward and becomes fixed for life. 
Most religious conversions occur in this period. Without 
such teaching and guidance, the result is too often a 
juvenile criminal. 

V. Intelligent Child Study Can Transform the Spirit 
of the Individual Teacher. — Aside from its scientific re- 
sults, child study has been of untold value to the home 
and to the school by its reflex influence upon every con- 
scientious student of children. 

(1) It has stimulated women's clubs and other organiza- 
tions to make heroic efforts to secure a more rational treat- 
ment of juvenile criminals and defective children of all 
classes. 

(2) It has aroused public interest in kindergartens, com- 
pulsory education laws, child-labor legislation, and pure- 
food laws. 

(3) It has brought the home and the school into closer 
and more sympathetic relations through Parent-Teacher 
Associations. 



56 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(4) It has prevented teachers from making serious mis- 
takes in discipline and inflicting untold harm upon pupils 
by unjust treatment. 

(5) It has made teachers better observers of their indi- 
vidual pupils; created within them a more worthy ambi- 
tion, a more appreciative spirit, a more loving sympathy, 
a more tender conscience, a keener sense of their own 
opportunities and responsibilities as teachers, and inspired 
them with a deeper reverence for the little ones intrusted 
to their care. In the words of President H. H. Seerley: 
"From an educator's stand-point, the province of child 
study is to make independent, soul-inspiring teachers: 
those who can touch human life in its beginnings and attain 
notable results, those who are guided by principles of 
science and not by mechanical inventions. There are 
limitations to human achievement, and child study can 
determine them; there are correct policies for management, 
and child study can outline them; there are true methods 
of instruction, and child study can divine them; there are 
real results to soul effort, and child study can anticipate 
them." 

These Three, but the Greatest of These Is Love. — I make 
no apology for this somewhat lengthy discussion of child 
study. No matter how perfect a teacher's scholarship may 
be, nor how extensive his professional training, if he has a 
face which is never illuminated with sympathy, and a 
heart devoid of affection for little children, he is not — 
cannot be — a good teacher. The teacher who gives nothing 
of his heart to his pupils will get no affection from them. 

The Loveless School. — In speaking of such a teacher, 
Stephens says: "It was ever a contest between teacher 
and pupils. She had no love in her heart, and no love 
rose up to meet her. So her days were filled with strife — 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 57 

the bad that was in her calling forth all the bad that was 
in her school — all of it concentrated against herself." 
And again: "The professional skill required to save a 
human life in the face of a disease of the body is nothing 
compared to the cultivation of a human soul. A county 
superintendent who carelessly licenses a coarse, ignorant 
person to practise on little children is to be pitied because 
his crime is so great. First of all requirements in the 
character of a teacher should be the power to love children. 
Without it a teacher is a failure." We can no more think 
of a good school without love than we can think of an ideal 
home without love. 

Nature of the Teacher^ Love for His Pupils. — The love 
of the teacher for his pupils is not a mere sentiment, it is 
a principle. It is not simply the natural human love we 
feel for those who love us, but it has an element of that 
divine love suggested in the words, "We love Him be- 
cause He first loved us." The teacher's love is not the 
artist's love of an object just because it is beautiful. Who 
can help loving a beautiful child, such children as Brown- 
ing paints for us in the "Pied Piper of Hamelin"? 

"All the little boys and girls 
With rosy cheeks and flaxen curls 
And sparkling eyes and teeth like pearls, 
Tripping and skipping, ran merrily after 
The wonderful music with shouting and laughter." 

Any teacher can love such children as these. They are 
from the best homes. They are well dressed, are bright 
and mannerly, and are full of joy and gladness. They are 
loved at home. 

Pupils Who Most Need the Teachers Love. — But there 
are pupils who are not so fortunate. They come from 



58 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

unhappy homes. They have not been well trained. They 
are sometimes untidy, poorly clothed, coarse, vulgar, de- 
ceitful, sullen, cruel. They have never loved, because 
nobody ever loved them. They are little Ishmaelites. 
Here is the teacher's trial and his opportunity. If he dis- 
likes such a pupil, the pupil will pay him back in dislike, 
and dislike will soon grow into hate. But if he can find 
some door to such a child's heart, he may save a soul from 
death. And how can he find this door? The only way 
to find it is to study the pupil, find out his past life, dis- 
cover his interests, see him in his home, make yourself 
interested in him; for interest will grow into sympathy 
and sympathy will blossom into love — love founded on 
principle — and with love all things are possible. 

An Illustration. — One day a teacher in the eighth grade 
of a certain school reported one of her pupils to me for a 
very serious offence. His name was Alfred, and he was 
the largest boy in her room, coarse, awkward, brutal. 
The teacher informed me that he had always been a 
troublesome pupil and that she could not put up with him 
any longer. It was my first year as principal of the school, 
and I knew nothing of the boy's home life. When I called 
him into my office and talked with him about his conduct, 
he was so defiant and rebellious that I was greatly irritated, 
and concluded that I would give him a severe whipping 
or report him to the school board for expulsion. Feeling 
that I ought to consult his parents before punishing him, 
I asked him to get his hat, and we went to his home. It was 
a little, dingy, one-story house of two rooms — rooms as 
bare and untidy and cheerless as I had ever seen. His 
mother was at home. I stated my errand, told her what 
Alfred had done, and said that I had decided to whip him 
or expel him. To my surprise she seemed utterly indiffer- 



THE STUDY OF CHILDREN AND ITS RESULTS 59 

ent and said I could do as I pleased. As I turned to go 
away the door opened and a man entered that I knew 
right away was Alfred's father. He was a butcher, a large 
man with a most repulsive face. I explained to him why 
I had come, and when I had finished he went across the 
room to where Alfred was standing, struck him in the face, 
and then turning to me said, with oaths and curses, never to 
trouble him again about the boy, but to kill him if I wanted 
to. I took Alfred's arm and we walked back to the school- 
house together. All my bitterness toward him was gone, 
and in its place a great pity and tender sympathy for the boy 
filled my heart. I did not need to tell him so in words; he 
felt it and understood it all. His teacher, at my request, 
took him back, and when I told her what had happened 
in Alfred's home she was greatly shocked. Her attitude 
toward him changed, and he never again caused us the least 
trouble. 

The Miracle of Love. — No one was ever reformed by 
hate. At Stanz, Pestalozzi gathered around him eighty 
beggar children, ignorant, ill-mannered, many of them 
vicious. At the end of a few months he said of them: 
"Amongst these wild beggar children there soon existed 
such peace, friendship, and cordial relations as are rare 
even among actual brothers and sisters. Even my punish- 
ments never produced obstinacy, because all day long I 
was giving them proofs of my affection and devotion." 
No wonder that some one said of Pestalozzi's school: *If 
ever there was a miracle, Pestalozzi wrought one at Stanz." 
It was the miracle of love. Only thus can the work of 
teaching be truly dignified and lifted above the plane of 
drudgery. Francis Parker said: "Nothing that is good 
is too good for the child; no thought too deep; no toil too 
great; no work too arduous, for the welfare of the child 



60 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

means happier homes, better society, a purer ballot, and 
the perpetuity of republican institutions." 

This chapter has been written in the hope that it 
may help young teachers to avoid some serious mis- 
takes in teaching; may open their eyes to the supreme 
importance of studying children; may point the way to 
pursue such study with success; may keep them from 
regarding their daily work in the school-room as mere 
drudgery; may help them to help their pupils more 
effectively and more joyously, for: — 

"No unskilled hand should ever play upon a harp 
Whose sounds remain forever in the strings." 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Kirkpatrick, "Fundamentals of Child Study"; Rousseau, 
"Emile," Books I and II; Mangold, "Child Problems," chap. 
V; Norsworthy and Whitley, "Psychology of Childhood," chaps. 
X, XVI; Meriam, "Child Life and the Curriculum," chap. 
XVIII; Waddle, "Introduction to Child Psychology," chap. II; 
Hall, "Aspects of Child Life and Education," pp. 1-52 and 142- 
209; Wray, "Jean Mitchell's School"; Oppenheim, "The De- 
velopment of the Child," chap. IV; Warner, "The Nervous Sys- 
tem of the Child," chap. Ill; Kilpatrick, "The Montessori Sys- 
tem Examined"; O'Shea, "The Trend of the Teens," chaps. I, 
II, III; Gesell, "The Normal Child and Primary Education," 
Part I. 



CHAPTER V 
THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHER 

Essentials in the Making of an Efficient Teacher. — In 

the preceding chapters three essential lines of prepara- 
tion have been discussed. They are: (i) Scholarship; 
(2) Professional Training and Growth; (3) Study of 
Children. The fourth essential factor in the success of 
the teacher is health. 

Health Conditions as Revealed by the World War. — 
The World War revealed the astounding fact that one- 
third of all the young men between the ages of twenty- 
one and thirty-one called to serve in our army were 
unfit for military service on account of physical defects 
and diseases due, in the main, to the neglect of the 
simplest laws of health. And a very large per cent of 
the men. who succeeded in passing the physical exami- 
nation were found to be utterly lacking in endurance 
and the power to resist disease, and were grossly igno- 
rant of the simplest laws of right living. 

Here, then, is a vitally important problem for our 
public schools. We already have sufficient knowledge 
of the laws of health and of the means by which diseases 
may be prevented, so the problem of the schools is to 
instruct and train our boys and girls in the practical 
and personal use of such knowledge. 

Importance of Good Health in the Teacher. — Since it 
is almost impossible to do good work and do it cheer- 
fully when one is not well, teachers should make the 
safeguarding of their own health a part of their religion. 

61 



62 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Teaching is no job for an invalid. Even under the most 
favorable sanitary conditions teaching is taxing work. 
It makes large demands on the nervous energy, for it 
requires constant alertness in the supervision of pupils 
and continuous attention to the work of instruction; 
and to the duties of the day in the school-room must be 
added the evening's preparation for the work of to- 
morrow. Knowing how strenuous these demands on 
the physical health and strength are, teachers who per- 
sistently violate the laws of hygienic living sin against 
themselves as well as the school, for they invite failure 
of the worst kind. To be sick when one could be well 
with the exercise of a little sound sense is a crime. The 
best health lesson any school can have is a vigorous, 
wholesome, cheerful teacher. Health is positive; it is 
courage, hope, joy in achievement, and a happy spirit. 
How the Teachers Ill-health Reacts upon the School. 
— A diseased teacher is a constant menace to the en- 
tire school. The contact between teacher and pupils is 
very close. They live together in the same room. 
They breathe the same air, use the same books, are 
subjected to the same lighting and heating conditions. 
A teacher who is afflicted with a cold, with chronic 
catarrh, with skin disease, or incipient tuberculosis, 
who takes very little exercise in the open air, who eats 
a "deadly cold lunch in solemn silence,' ' is a health 
peril to the pupils, and through them to the health of 
the entire community. Yet in spite of this peril, Dr. 
E. B. Hoag says: "In my experience as Medical Direc- 
tor of Schools I have time and again observed teachers 
afflicted with tuberculosis, asthma, deafness, defective 
vision, neurasthenia, malnutrition, anaemia, heart dis- 
ease, or other disorders." The medical examination of 



THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHER 63 

teachers is as necessary to public health as the medical 
inspection of pupils. 

The diseased teacher is apt to be a fussy, nervous, 
irritable teacher, oversensitive, with anxious brow and 
aching head, weak and sentimental or harshly exacting, 
easily upset, teaching by spells and governing by spasms. 
In the presence of such a teacher pupils grow restless, 
excitable, easily discouraged, unhappy, hopeless, and 
doless. They absorb the nervousness of the teacher, and 
such nervousness assumes all forms of outward expres- 
sion such as coughing, nail-biting, hair-fussing, giggling, 
pencil-chewing, aimless movements, and disorder. 

The diseased teacher is an effectual antidote to the 
successful moral instruction and training of children. 
The virtues do not thrive in an atmosphere of depres- 
sion and pessimism. If the teacher's appearance, ac- 
tions, and attitude all suggest that the whole world is 
out of gear, that God has deserted his heaven, that hope 
and faith are dead, that no one can be trusted, and that 
life is not worth living, we shall hardly expect pupils to 
develop courage, justice, joy in work, enthusiasm, and 
sympathy. In the daily presence of such a teacher the 
highest purpose of education, character-growth, is de- 
feated, and the school becomes the proline breeding- 
place of all the individual and social vices. 

The Teachers Duty as to Health. — Since there is so 
much at stake for all concerned in the school, teachers 
owe it to themselves to conserve their health in every 
possible way. The first duty of all teachers is to face 
squarely the facts as to their general physical fitness for 
the work of teaching. These facts can be revealed only 
by a thorough medical examination. The second duty 
of teachers as to health is to study the conditions under 



64 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

which their work must be done. If these conditions do 
not give one a "fighting chance" to preserve his health 
and vitality, no consideration should induce him to 
undertake the work. A third duty of teachers is to 
build up and strengthen what is weak in their physical 
make-up, to guard against eye-strain, colds, fatigue, 
indigestion, headache, throat trouble, and nervousness. 
Even more faithfully will all right-minded teachers strive 
to build up their mental and moral health by econo- 
mizing their intellectual and emotional energy, refrain- 
ing from worry, casting our fear, and keeping in touch 
with human interests and world progress. Again, all 
teachers owe it to themselves and their pupils to make 
the health conditions of the school just as favorable as 
possible. There must be constant supervision of the 
ventilation of the school-room, the heating, the light- 
ing, the sweeping and dusting, the play periods, the care 
of wraps and overshoes, and numberless little details 
of the daily life of the school. Teachers should also 
learn the art of resting, of play, and mental recreation. 
Sleepiness and fatigue have been called the twin war- 
dens of our health, and a due regard for their warnings 
is a mark of sanity and good sense on the part of any 
teacher. In fact, it would seem that the most accurate 
test of the real fitness of teachers for their work is their 
attitude toward recreation and the use they make of 
their "margin of time and energy." It is hard to be 
patient with teachers, or other grown-up people, whose 
eyes are weak and "pain them dreadfully" but who 
will persist in going to see the "movies" several nights 
in the week; teachers whose "nerves are all frazzled" 
but who nevertheless work till midnight correcting 
papers that should never have been taken home; teach- 



THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHER 65 

ers who violate every law of health and good sense and 
then appear in the school-room unfit for service because 
of headache or indigestion or lack of sleep. 

And, finally, it is the duty of the teacher to develop 
a genuine enthusiasm for health, health abounding and 
overflowing, the source of energy and reserve power, 
the result of obedience to the fundamental laws of 
physical well-being. 

Health as a Source of Happiness. — Character has 
been defined as a " fixed inclination toward certain 
courses of conduct, resulting from constant obedience 
to moral principles prescribing such conduct. " A firm 
conviction that an action or course of conduct is right, 
and therefore ought to be followed, is essential to the 
development of right character. It is natural and right 
to desire success and happiness. The means of attain- 
ing happiness are: (i) Physical; (2) mental and spiritual. 
As a general law those activities which maintain and 
increase life, used in moderation, are pleasurable, while 
those which destroy life are painful. Food and drink, 
exercise and sleep, are pleasant. Those activities of 
the mind which build up the intellectual life and those 
qualities of soul that enlarge the spiritual life are sources 
of happiness. But to possess these sources of happiness 
we must covet them earnestly and strive for them con- 
stantly. We must fill our soul with the conviction of 
their exceeding great value. We must introduce sys- 
tem into our lives, and each individual must work out 
for himself a sensible programme of eating and drinking, 
of working and resting. So, too, we must cultivate 
friendships, learn to be useful and helpful, cherish the 
kindly spirit, and constantly seek to enrich and ennoble 
our higher self and increase our ability for service. 



66 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

The teacher whose life is governed by such convic- 
tions in regard to health and happiness, one who is 
living the " efficient life," will radiate a spirit of good- 
will and courage, and from his abundant vitality, cheer, 
and sunshine, pupils will feel the call to duty and good- 
ness. 

Modern Health Ideals and Agencies. — The modern 
ideal of health is not a Hercules or a Samson, not a 
strong back and a weak mind, not an athlete simply 
nor a soldier, not an exceptional individual, but a healthy 
nation. Our modern ideal of health is soundness of 
constitution, worth of the body as the perfect instru- 
ment of the mind and spirit, because healthy in body, 
mind, and spirit. 

And this ideal is to be attained through the wise use 
of all our modern health agencies; through teachers in 
our schools who are fitted to instruct and train pupils 
in the laws and habits of right living; through medical 
inspection and school nurses; through boards of health 
and the perfect sanitation of school buildings; through 
Red Cross activities, Boy Scouts, and Camp Fire Girls; 
through regular class instruction in physical exercise, 
play, and out-door games; through wholesome school 
lunches, and through a rational system of school organi- 
zation and grading based on the results of scientific 
tests of each pupil's mental and physical ability. 

Teachers Are the Real Health Officers of the School. 
— No matter how wonderful the advance in our scien- 
tific knowledge of caring for the body has been, no mat- 
ter how wise and progressive our school laws in regard 
to health training are, no matter how modern and ade- 
quate for health culture our school buildings, gym- 
nasiums, and playgrounds may be, in the last analysis 



THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHER 67 

it depends upon the teachers, who are in actual every- 
day contact with the pupils, whether all these agencies 
will be of any real benefit to the school. It goes with- 
out saying that very little can be expected in the way of 
effectively preserving the health of pupils from any 
teacher who in her own daily life persistently ignores 
or wilfully violates every fundamental law of hygienic 
living. Rational health teaching in our schools includes 
three lines of instruction: (i) The prevention of disease; 
(2) teaching the laws of healthful living; (3) forming 
good health habits. 

(1) Prevention of Disease. — Science bears out the state- 
ment that nearly all children are born healthy. Yet, 
even to-day, the rate of infant mortality is appallingly 
great, and fully one-third of the pupils in our public 
schools are afflicted with physical defects and ailments 
to such a degree that they are doomed to great incon- 
venience, suffering, and incomplete maturity unless 
these defects are corrected. This condition is due to 
the ignorance and indifference, and, sometimes, to the 
criminal negligence of parents, teachers, and health 
officers. 

For ages small-pox, yellow fever, cholera, diphtheria, 
typhoid, and tuberculosis have been the scourge of our 
race. But medical science has won notable victories 
over these old foes of humanity. More people die now 
of measles than of small-pox. Yellow fever has been 
completely stamped out. Antidotes for diphtheria and 
typhoid have been discovered, and no community need 
have an epidemic of these diseases unless it deliberately 
neglects to employ the perfect safeguards against them 
which modern science has provided. It is obvious that 
the teacher's health work in the line of the prevention 



68 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of communicable diseases and the removal of defects 
already acquired by individual pupils is very important. 
Such preventive and remedial oversight will require 
wise supervision of the physical condition of the pupils 
as to cleanliness, posture, school lunches, eye-strain, 
colds, and fatigue. This supervision will require con- 
stant attention to the ventilation, heating, and lighting 
of the school-room, the oversight of halls and cloak- 
rooms, the inspection of pupils' hands, breathing, pos- 
ture, and study habits. 

(2) Teaching the Laws of Healthful Living. — Impor- 
tant as is the preventive work of the teacher, it is only 
the beginning of an adequate health programme. The 
teacher must engage in an active health crusade. Health 
is largely a matter of acquisition in the sense that it must 
be earned and maintained by obeying the laws of our 
physical being. The objects to be kept in mind by the 
teacher are: (1) To arouse an interest in health knowledge 
and give it intelligent direction; (2) to persuade pupils 
that a systematic personal health programme is worth 
while; (3) to create a sane and right attitude toward the 
problems of public health; (4) to improve the physical, 
mental, and moral health of the pupils. 

The means of imparting such instruction and the ma- 
terial to be used are now very abundant. Many States 
have passed laws providing definite programmes of phy- 
sical training in all public schools. The U. S. Bureau of 
Education has published a most helpful and inspiring 
series of bulletins covering every phase of health teach- 
ing. The N. E. A. and the educational department 
in many States have issued circulars and pamphlets of 
vital interest and containing, in attractive form, excellent 
material for use by the teacher. The Red Cross has 



THE HEALTH OF THE TEACHER 69 

undertaken a world programme for the betterment of 
sanitary conditions and the suppression of disease. In 
the year 192 1 more than six million pupils were enrolled 
as "Modern Health Crusaders." 

The method of giving health instruction is impor- 
tant. It should be as simple, definite, and concrete as 
possible. Much use should be made of outlines, charts, 
pictures, mottoes, and diagrams. The marvellous re- 
sults of the work of Jenner, Pasteur, and Gorgas should 
be emphasized. Reasons for obeying the laws of health 
should be explained in all but the lower grades. And 
all instruction should be capable of being carried out at 
once into action. 

(3) Forming Good Health Habits. — It cannot be too 
strongly impressed upon the teacher that the one con- 
stant aim and purpose of health education is to estab- 
lish permanent health habits in the life of each indi- 
vidual pupil. Unless this object is attained the entire 
programme of health teaching has been pretty much of 
a failure. The health ideals and habits of any com- 
munity are only the sum of the ideals and habits of its 
individual members. 

In forming these personal health habits the teacher 
must: (1) Make the school-room, building, outbuildings, 
and playground a miniature community, and pupils 
must be constantly exercised in efficient school house- 
keeping and sanitary living; (2) careful inspection must 
be made of the pupils' personal appearance, dress, hair, 
hands, nails, teeth, desk, and books; (3) there must be 
close and intelligent co-operation with parents, school 
nurse, board of health, Red Cross, and other organiza- 
tions concerned with public-health work; (4) credit may 
be given pupils for the regular and faithful performance 



70 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of the " Health Chores," and reports of progress and 
standing furnished to parents; (5) all the work in physi- 
cal training and athletics should be conducted with a 
view to their permanent value in forming good health 
habits in the pupils and a right attitude toward public 
health; (6) nearly all useful health habits can be grouped 
around the following six topics, (a) air and breathing, 
(b) food and habits of eating, (c) posture, (d) work, 
play, and rest, (e) elimination of waste, and (/) emo- 
tional control. 

Finally, no teacher can carry on a successful health 
campaign in the school unless he is so thoroughly con- 
vinced of its value that he is willing to strive unceasingly, 
often it may be against the ignorance and bigoted oppo- 
sition of those who ought to be his best supporters, 
for the health ideals which he has adopted as his guide. 
Unless the teacher is sustained by such ideals and con- 
victions, he will soon be pulled down to the community 
level of indifference, callousness to conditions, shiftless 
health habits, and dirt. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Terman, "The Teacher's Health," chaps. I, III, F IV, VI, VII; 

Gulick, "The Efficient Life," pp. 7-46; Hoag and Terman, 
"Health Work in the Schools," chaps. V, XIII, XIV, XV; 
Ayers, "Healthful Schools," chaps. VIII, X, XI, XII; Allen, 
"Civics and Health," pp. 1-44 and chaps. XV, XVI; U. S. 
Bureau of Education, Bulletin No. 24, 1918, and Nos. 5-10 of 
"Health Education Series," 1921; Rapeer, "Educational Hy- 
giene Series"; Terman, "The Hygiene of the School," pp. i-ii, 
289-331, 381-406. 



CHAPTER VI 
THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 

Meaning of Personality. — A great poet plucked a 
simple flower and read in it the supreme law of creation, 
— the unity of all things: 

"Flower in the crannied wall, 
I pluck you out of the crannies, — 
Hold you here, root and all, in my hand, 
Little flower — but if I could understand 
What you are, root and all, and all in all, 
I should know what God and man is." 

All the universe centres in each individual. The 
child comes into the world endowed with a priceless 
heritage that stretches back to the beginning of our 
race, and gifted with the capacity of developing all the 
attributes of humanity. Out of the original bit of hu- 
manity which we call a baby some sort of man or 
woman will grow, and the whole world is interested in 
the kind of man or woman that is the result of such 
growth. Personality is the living answer to the ques- 
tion: "What is the value of my life to me and to the 
world?" Every individual is a unit, an integer, an 
epitome of humanity, a unique product of all the vital 
and material forces of creation. By personality we mean 
the real self. The self is the meeting-place of all the 
impressions and the starting-point of all the activities 
that have influenced one's life, all the traits of racial 
and family ancestry, all the potent factors of early en- 

71 



72 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

vironment in home and church and neighborhood, all 
the thoughts of his past, all the emotions he has felt, 
all the lessons he has learned, all the deeds he has done — 
all these added together are his personality. 

Factors in Personality. — The factors in personality 
have been classified into three sets: (i) Organic; (2) emo- 
tional; (3) intellectual. The original elements out of 
which personality is fashioned are the same. Human 
instincts are a common inheritance. Material objects 
around us, and the forces of heat, light, gravity, and 
electricity, constitute our common physical environ- 
ment. The senses perform the same office for all. 
Thinking, feeling, and willing are fundamental human 
attributes. The ever-present needs of food and clothing 
and shelter are universal. Birth, growth, maturity, old 
age, and death make up the inevitable cycle of human life. 
Yet every individual is a distinct, separate, and original 
self, with a sense of personal identity and a consciousness 
of powers not subject to the will of any one but himself. 
This is so because these elements in the growth of 
personality common to all may be combined in an in- 
finite variety of ways. As a result we have all sorts and 
degrees of personality, attractive or repellent, strong or 
weak, symmetrical or unbalanced. But the outstand- 
ing facts are that all of these personalities grow out of 
a common soil and that no one of them is just a name- 
less member of a herd or an unrecognizable unit of a 
mass, but a distinct individual, a separate entity, 
different from others, and with an inner world of con- 
scious experiences, motives, ideals, and soul-struggles 
unknown and unshared by any other human being. 

Will as an Element in Personality. — Will is the self 
in action. Such action may be expression or repression. 



THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 73 

It may be self-direction or self-control. Will is the 
formative and unifying energy in the development of 
personality. The willed activities of our daily life are 
both a means of self-realization and the only mode of 
revealing our personality to others. Only as we do 
things are we able to know ourselves, acquire habits, 
and estimate our real ability. Thus the will becomes 
the instrument and the symbol of power and efficiency. 

Development of Personality. — All growth is the re- 
sult of response to stimuli. Growth in personality is 
measured by the ability of the individual to respond 
to higher and more ideal stimuli. In the first stage of 
its developing personality the child responds only to its 
own instincts and follows its own immediate and single 
interest. Soon it learns to choose among a variety of 
conflicting interests. Later it learns the great lesson of 
giving up some lower and immediate interests for the 
sake of higher and more remote interests. Still later 
comes the power to subordinate self-interest to a social 
interest and to sacrifice personal likes, time, and energy 
for the good of the group, the fraternity, family, or 
school. And last stage of all in the development of 
personality is the enthronement in the soul of the princi- 
ple of right and duty, the ready and unerring response 
to the highest ideal, the willing obedience to the moral 
law, and the unique, joyous, majestic, almost divine de- 
votion of self that impels one in the interest of a great 
cause to give up life itself rather than to disobey the 
"heavenly vision." 

The great lesson for each of us to learn is that we are 
responsible for the sort of personality we develop. 
Strong and efficient personality does not grow out of 
nothing. It is not an accident. It is not given to us 



74 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

at birth. It is not even a fixed condition after it has 
been achieved. Since it is subject to the laws of growth, 
it is subject also to the laws of decay. A French psy- 
chologist has written a book on the "Diseases of Per- 
sonality. " As the result of the loss of a controlling ideal 
or a failure to strive to realize such an ideal, a strong 
and healthy personality may become weak and diseased, 
or even criminal. The strongest influence in the con- 
scious development of personality is the will, self- 
directed energy, individual effort. Any other doc- 
trine is educational fatalism, and is not to be tolerated 
for a moment. The author of "Mental Growth and 
Control' ' says: "Make up your mind that your whole 
life will be a struggle — a struggle against weakness and 
temptation, against sickness and misery, against shams 
and falseness of all sorts. There will be a struggle 
with the world, with open enemies, with yourself. In 
this struggle ancestry counts for something, but not 
much; social position is enough to amuse one's self 
with in times of relaxation; wealth has advantages which 
in fortunate cases may be great enough to offset its 
disadvantages. But the man who sees in life the op- 
portunity to express himself in the largest terms, who, 
after ascertaining what faculties he has, determines to 
develop them to the highest possible efficiency, who is 
capable of seeing the sweetness and joy that lie all 
about him, who being proud dares not allow his body or 
mind to be denied, he is the one who obtains the big 
rewards, the big successes. There is no mere theory 
in this counsel. It is the hardest kind of hard sense." 
Self-selection in the Growth of Personality. — Plants 
and animals are subject to the law of natural selection, 
but human beings are endowed with the power to sub- 



THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 75 

stitute personal selection for the law of natural selec- 
tion. Each individual selects out of our common envi- 
ronment the things that appeal to him as most worth 
while, and thus he creates his own world in terms of 
self. That world is fashioned out of the ideals, the 
objects, the pleasures, the books, the companions, the 
vocation that he himself has selected. If he wisely 
selects the best there is in his environment, his per- 
sonality is broadened and enriched, for there is no en- 
vironment that is not rich in the materials out of which 
to build character. Growth and development are from 
within, and the essential to growth in personality is 
self-activity, work, creation. Other vital elements in 
such growth are a definite purpose as strong as steel, 
energy, and concentration of thought and effort, defi- 
nite and persistent action, and the "will to win." Such 
an enterprise calls for all the courage, patience, and 
perseverance of which one is capable; but the final 
outcome of steadfastly pressing toward the goal we have 
set before us is exceedingly great and precious. The 
men and women who are to be the leaders of their day 
and generation have to be found, not among those who 
have chosen the "easy road," selected the "short cut," 
shirked the "hard task," but among those who, like 
Franklin and Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt, have 
deliberately chosen the strenuous life that alone pre- 
pares men and women for heroic service. 

Rules for Developing Personality. — Great teachers in 
all ages have sought to discover the laws of personality. 
Systems of philosophy and all religions are the results 
of such attempts. For the worker who deals with ma- 
terial things, such as wood and stone and iron, some 
philosophy of life's value is important; but for the 



76 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

teacher, whose daily work is with "persons in the 
making," a knowledge of the laws of developing per- 
sonality is indispensable. A very brief statement of 
these laws is all that can be given here. 

(i) The Law of Health and Happiness. — Seek and 
enjoy the simple and innocent pleasures of life. Keep 
the body well and clean and strong. Eat good food and 
give yourself time to relish it. Sleep till thoroughly 
refreshed. Laugh much. Learn to play. Love the 
out-of-doors. Live in a sunny room. Read good books. 
Seek congenial companions. The world is a pleasant 
place to live in; live pleasantly in it. Such is the sim- 
plest philosophy of building personality. 

(2) The Law of Courage and Endurance. — In this 
world of ours, evil, disease, and death abound. Mis- 
fortunes and afflictions may come to you. But what of 
it; they come to all. Meet them with courage. En- 
dure with fortitude evils that cannot be helped. Don't 
whine nor shirk nor make excuses. Be the master of 
your fate, the captain of your soul. Do your duty. 
Climb though the way is steep and your feet are weary. 
Banish fear from your heart and worry from your mind. 
"Be strong and of good courage." "Quit you like 
men." This is the heroic creed of life. 

(3) The Law of Uplift of Soul. — We live in a world of 
work and drudgery. But each one creates his own world 
and his own attitude toward work. Look up and lift 
up. There are stars above us. There is a glory on the 
mountain- tops. There are bird-songs in the sky. Look 
and listen for the messages and the angel voices that 
come to us from a better world. When weary and heart- 
sick, seek some quiet place where you can commune 
with your own soul and with God. Get in tune with 



THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 77 

the infinite. View life in the large. When your strength 
falters, climb the Mount of Transfiguration and when 
you come down from the mountain you will take up 
your round of drudging toil with a serene heart and a 
shining face. 

(4) The Law of Selection and Emphasis. — In this 
world things are neither good nor bad. The use we 
make of them is the vital thing. The good is the right 
use of things. The bad is the wrong use. The things 
to do are infinite in number; but our ability to do is 
limited. Therefore, we must choose what is important 
in life. We must emphasize essentials. Define your 
task clearly. Form a life purpose. Choose what man- 
ner of person you hope to become. Then seek with all 
your might those means which will help you to realize 
your ideal. Banish all other things from your thought. 
"Haste not, rest not," but press ever toward your goal. 
Forget the things that are behind. Indulge in no fore- 
bodings. Waste no time on things that do not count. 
Make wise use of your margin of time and vitality. 
This is the price of preparedness for a great and worthy 
task. 

(5) The Law of Devoted Service. — The world is full of 
needy folks. There is the helplessness of infancy, the 
ignorance of childhood, the suffering of the sick, the 
weakness of old age. There are the misfortunes of 
business. There is the poverty of the poor, the de- 
pravity of the bad. Yet human life is great and infi- 
nitely precious. Humanity is endowed with marvellous 
capacities. These powers can be developed only through 
education and science, through just laws and self- 
respecting toil, through the uplift of art and literature; 
and through the teaching of morality and religion. 



78 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Here is a field for devoted service. To render such ser- 
vice is the supreme end of personality. To fit ourselves 
for such service is the noblest aim in life. To get much 
in order to give much is the only thing that makes the 
getting worth while. The reformer must give himself 
for his cause. The mother must give herself for her 
children. The teacher must give himself for his pupils. 
This is the only true measure of greatness. No phi- 
losophy of life can ever supplant or excel the law of the 
greatest Teacher of all time: "And whosoever of you 
will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." 

These are the great systems of thought as to the mean- 
ing of life and the best method of building the self. 
They sum up the wisdom of the ages as to how to de- 
velop personality. They are written not in books alone, 
but in the lives of men and women. Out of these 
various creeds each one of us, consciously or uncon- 
sciously, selects the material for building a philosophy 
of life. 

Unconscious Preparation for Teaching. — So far we 
have been dealing with those factors in the "making 
of a teacher" which can be definitely visualized and set 
before the mind as objects to be worked for consciously. 
Scholarship is such a factor. Our need of it can be re- 
alized. We can consciously set it before us as an aim. 
We know the exact means of securing it through faith- 
ful study under good teachers. The whole process is 
a conscious preparation to do more effective work as a 
teacher. So it is with our acquiring professional train- 
ing and a knowledge of children. It is also possible to 
consciously follow a rational health programme and to 
develop an efficient personality by striving with all our 
might to realize the ideal in life which we have delib- 
erately chosen. 



THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 79 

(a) Skill and Tact in Handling Children. — There are 
some things, however, that normal schools and col- 
leges cannot teach, and much of the most valuable 
preparation for teaching is acquired unconsciously. 
Just as little girls playing with their dolls, feeding, dress- 
ing, rocking them to sleep are unconsciously preparing 
for the duties of the home, so children in playing school, 
in their games and stories, in managing their playmates 
are preparing to become successful teachers. Their 
" unconscious preparation for teaching," acquired in the 
home and among their playmates, becomes an impor- 
tant factor in their success. 

(b) Preparation for Responsibility. — Teaching school 
calls for the constant exercise of good judgment. The 
teacher must face new conditions, make important de- 
cisions, assume the personal responsibility for the man- 
agement of the school. Inexperienced teachers often 
make utterly absurd or grossly unjust decisions that 
result in very serious trouble both for themselves and 
the school. People say of such teachers that they 
"lack common-sense. " But there is no need to darken 
counsel by words. Success and failure are effects, and 
they must have adequate causes. The plain and simple 
fact is that preparation for responsibility is of slow 
growth and is often an unconscious process. 

(c) Growth in Executive Ability and Initiative. — The 
last step in the transformation of the student into the 
efficient teacher is the acquirement of power to bring 
things to pass. The teacher is not all instructor; he is 
organizer, ruler, and trainer. These duties require 
initiative, executive ability, power to set other people 
to work and to plan and direct their work wisely. 
Very often we see men with this rare power of bringing 
things to pass directing the efforts of other men possess- 



80 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ing far greater scholarship than themselves. Power of 
initiative and executive ability command the highest 
value in the labor markets of the world. Men are daz- 
zled by deeds, and even children like to see things 
come to pass. The whole world admires the man who 
does things. This power cannot be acquired wholly in 
normal school or college nor in the quiet of one's study. 
It must be wrought out in the midst of the world's 
work and conflicts and in touch with the great throb- 
bing life of the race. 

Excuses for Failure. — The unsuccessful teacher will 
have many excuses for his failure. "It was a hard 
school." "The school board did not support me." 
"The parents did not make their children mind." 
"The last teacher had let the pupils do as they pleased." 
These are sample excuses of the teachers who fail. And 
it is possible that one failure in twenty may be due to 
some cause outside of the school-room and the teacher. 
But it is doubtless true that in nearly all cases of failure 
the fault is in the teacher. With better scholarship, 
better method, more tact, greater force of character, 
and a proper conception of the teacher's work there 
would have been no failure. 

No Impossible Ideal. — In these chapters on the "mak- 
ing of a teacher" no impossible ideal has been presented. 
It has not been assumed that the task of making one's 
self a teacher is a short one or an easy one. Nor has 
it been implied that a young man or a young woman 
should master all wisdom, virtue, and knowledge before 
beginning the work of teaching. Progress in scholar- 
ship has been insisted upon, professional training has 
been emphasized, the necessity for studying children 
has been pointed out, growth in personality, common- 



THE TEACHER'S PERSONALITY 81 

sense, and character has been explained — all these things 
have been shown to be possible, not for the chosen few 
only, but for all teachers everywhere. No one can justly 
expect that all teachers, or any teacher, shall be endlessfy 
patient, free from mistakes, always perfectly just, a 
miracle of good temper, unfailingly tactful, and unerring 
in knowledge. But people have a right to expect that 
all teachers shall have fairly accurate scholarship, some 
professional training, average mental ability, moral 
character, some aptness to teach, and that they shall 
covet earnestly the best gifts. These things the public 
should demand of the teacher. And through intelli- 
gent purpose and study, through steady effort and con- 
stant upward-striving, these things are possible of at- 
tainment by every teacher. 

Importance of the Teacher's Work. — There is no 
doubt that there are thousands of children in our schools 
to-day who, if they come into real living contact with 
an inspiring, sympathetic, capable teacher, will be a 
power to influence their fellow-men. But without such 
contact and inspiration their powers will lie dormant, 
the favorable time for learning will pass, their brains 
will become less plastic, and they will be doomed to 
live on a low intellectual plane, all the time conscious 
that life might have been so different. A business man 
of very meagre education, but worth a hundred thou- 
sand dollars, once said to me: "I would give every cent 
I am worth if I could go back and get a good educa- 
tion." The teacher must help the pupil to discover 
himself. Otherwise the pupil may repeat in his own 
life the tragedy described in Gray's "Elegy" — the 
tragedy of undiscovered and undeveloped native powers 
resulting in the petty and circumscribed life. 



82 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 



SUGGESTED READINGS 

Hyde, "The Teacher's Philosophy," Part II; Woodworth, 
" Psychology," chap. XXI; Oppenheim, "Mental Growth and 
Control," chaps. I, XII; Conover, "Personality in Education," 
chaps. I, II; Drummond, "The Greatest Thing in the World"; 
Hughes, "Tom Brown at Rugby"; Pestalozzi, "Leonard and 
Gertrude." 



PART II 

THE TEACHER AS ORGANIZER 

CHAPTER VII 
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 

Democracy and the Public School. — Before the teacher 
can understand his work as an organizer he must know 
something of what he is to organize. He must under- 
stand why our public schools were founded and appre- 
ciate something of their aims, their nature, and their 
work. He should realize that no cause is more vitally 
essential to our greatness and progress as a nation than 
the cause of popular education. He should see in the 
free school the most characteristic of our American 
institutions and the most precious heritage of the chil- 
dren of the republic. 

Necessity of Free Schools in the United States. — Many 
years ago a famous French writer declared that the 
steady progress of the world is toward democracy. 
Our American Revolution in 1775 was a part of this 
progress. The result of this revolution was to place 
supreme political power in the hands of the common 
people. Then it was fortunate, indeed, that our great- 
est men fully realized that without universal education 
the experiment of self-government would be an awful 
failure. There is no magic in the word " republic" to 
insure good government; the magic is in the intelligence 
and integrity of the people. There is no power in dec- 

83 



84 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

larations of independence to free people from ignorance 
and vice. There is no safety in paper constitutions; 
State and national constitutions must be written in 
the hearts of the people. Santo Domingo and some of 
the South American republics are impressive illustra- 
tions of these statements. 

Views of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison. — In 
his first annual message to Congress, Washington said: 
1 'Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of pub- 
lic happiness." And every American citizen should 
treasure these words from Washington's Farewell Ad- 
dress: " Promote, as an object of primary importance, 
institutions for the general diffusion of knowledge. In 
proportion as the structure of a government gives force 
to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should 
be enlightened. " 

Thomas Jefferson never wrote nobler words than 
these: "A system of general instruction, which shall 
reach every description of our citizens, from the richest 
to the poorest, as it was the earliest, so it shall be the 
latest of all the public concerns in which I shall permit 
myself to take an interest." And again: "If a nation 
expects to be free and ignorant at the same time, it 
expects what never was and never will be. Where the 
press is free and every man is able to read, there, and 
there alone, democracy is safe." 

So, too, James Madison declared that "a popular 
government without popular education is but the pre- 
lude of a farce or a tragedy — perhaps both." 

The Great Experiment. — Congress and the nation ac- 
cepted the views of these great men. Magnificent 
tracts from the public lands were given to the States 
for founding permanent school funds; State universities 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 85 

and agricultural schools were established and common- 
school systems were provided. Thus in the early part 
of the nineteenth century there was begun in this new 
republic the greatest, the most far-reaching, the most 
wonderful social experiment in the history of our race — 
the attempt to educate, at the public expense, all the 
children of all the people. Every State in the Union 
is committed to the cause of free education, and the 
common school is emphatically the people's institution. 

The Struggle for Free Education. — No teacher should 
be ignorant of the fact that our American common 
schools are the result of a long and heroic struggle against 
the theoty that a few human beings are born to rule, 
while the many are born to obey and serve without ques- 
tion. Despots have always feared to educate the masses. 
No tyrannical government is safe when the people be- 
gin to think for themselves. The struggle for the com- 
mon school has been a conflict not only against tyranny, 
but against indifference, prejudice, and ignorance. No 
other class of reformers ever toiled and sacrificed more 
heroically than educational reformers like Pestalozzi, 
Horace Mann, Mary Lyon, and Francis Parker. 

Our Common Schools a Unique Institution. — No other 
nation in the world has free schools that are common to 
all classes of children, rich and poor, high and low. Our 
common schools are not merely for the people, but they 
are of the people and by the people. Called into being 
by the spirit of modern democracy, they have become 
absolutely necessary to the preservation and growth of 
our free institutions. They are the best friend of the 
children of the poor. They prevent classes and caste in 
American society by levelling up instead of levelling 
down. The socialism of culture and character is the 



86 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

only true socialism. The common schools are the safe- 
guards of freedom and the true nurseries of intelligent 
patriotism. They are the great means of assimilating 
our vast foreign population and teaching their children 
to love the country of their adoption. In them Ameri- 
can democracy finds its most complete expression. In 
them the people of every race and creed and station in 
life meet on common ground and clasp hands in a 
united purpose to give to every child the fullest oppor- 
tunity to develop to the utmost his individual powers. 
In every intelligent community the common schools 
hold a warm place in the hearts of the people, and the 
taxes necessary to support them are regarded, not as 
a burden, but as a wise investment. 

Compulsory-attendance Laws. — But if the taxpayers 
should feel an interest in the public schools of their com- 
munity, how much deeper ought to be the interest of 
the parents who intrust to these schools the education 
of their children ! It would seem that where the State 
and the community provide public schools free to every 
child, it would be quite unnecessary to urge, or even 
compel, parents to give their children the advantages 
of an education. And it is safe to assume that all good 
parents will be anxious to have their children in school, 
and will make every necessary sacrifice to secure this 
end. But not all parents are good or wise. Some are 
foolish, weak, selfish, shiftless, and even vicious. Many 
children are left orphans, or worse. These children 
must not be permitted to grow up in ignorance to be- 
come a menace to society. Parents must not be al- 
lowed to neglect the education of their children. Physi- 
cal parenthood is not real parenthood. The mere fact 
of physical parenthood never gave to any man or woman 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 87 

the right to condemn any child to the slavery of igno- 
rance. Society must see to it that, as far as possible, 
every child has a fair chance. 

Compulsory-attendance laws are the logical outcome 
of State education; for if the State may say to the man 
with property but no children: "You must be taxed to 
support free public schools/' surely it should say to the 
man with children but no property: "You must send 
your children to school.' ' 

Practically all the States have passed laws providing 
for the compulsory attendance of pupils, but these laws, 
as a rule, are not strictly enforced, and the result is a 
disgracefully large per cent of illiteracy in the nation. 
The total number of pupils enrolled in the public schools 
of the United States in 1918 was 20,853,516, but the 
average daily attendance was only 15,548,914, or 74^ 
per cent. 

Democratic Society Maintains the School Through 
Co-operation. — The all-compelling reasons why free pub- 
lic schools and compulsory attendance must be main- 
tained in America are: (1) To secure to each individual 
child his natural right to share in the culture of the 
race; (2) to provide the means of effectively training all 
children for citizenship in a democratic society. 

Democracy, the rule of the people as opposed to the 
rule of a monarch or a class, is based upon equality and 
self-government. The first is natural; the second is 
acquired through training. Democracy implies asso- 
ciated effort and co-operation of all the various groups 
that make up society. The public school is a product of 
such associated effort. It is a partnership maintained 
for training all children in the business of living freely, 
usefully, happily — a partnership to which each of the 



88 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 



great social groups, or institutions, contributes its vital 
share as invested capital, and from which each contribut- 
ing group reaps a priceless return in social dividends. 
It was Emerson who wrote: "The true test of civiliza- 
tion is not the census, nor the size of cities, nor the 
crops — no, but the kind of man the country turns out." 




The diagram will help to make clear how democratic 
society creates and maintains the school through co- 
operation, and how the school returns to each one of 
the great contributing groups its share of social divi- 
dends. 

The Partners in the School and Their Dividends. — 
The home contributes children to the school, and from 
the school it receives the home-makers of to-morrow 
equipped with knowledge and skill that insure the wel- 
fare of family life. The State contributes laws, teach- 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 89 

ers, supervision to the school, and from the school it, 
in turn, welcomes each year an army of citizens. The 
vocations invest taxes in the school in order that the 
work of the nation may be done more effectively and 
without degrading the worker. And the church con- 
tributes to the school the ideals of morality, religion, 
human brotherhood, and service that are the bulwark 
of our civilization, and from the school it is entitled to 
receive men and women whose lives help to exalt right- 
eousness in the nation. 

Thus our public school is created and maintained to 
promote the welfare of each individual and the good of 
society. Both of these purposes are vital. Neither 
can be successfully accomplished alone. There are 
strong forces at work that tend to divide our people into 
hostile factions and warring classes and to keep alive 
the age-old hates and racial conflicts that come to our 
shores from other lands. The one institution that can 
successfully combat all these tendencies to strife and 
ill-will and soften the bitterness of classes is the public 
school. The instruction and training in our schools 
must be intelligently directed toward fostering among 
all classes a spirit of unity and fair play, a sense of com- 
mon interests and ideals, and a universal appreciation 
of our duties as citizens. Our schools must not turn out 
citizens who are simply cultured but without sympathy 
with the man who works with his hands, or any appre- »■ 
ciation of the industrial problems of our day; nor, on 
the other hand, must the education given in our schools 
rob the child of the worker of the power to understand 
the social value and significance of the vocational 
training he has received. In the schools of a democracy, 
work and a right attitude toward it, culture and its de- 



90 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

pendence upon industrial progress, knowledge and its 
application to human needs, character and its expres- 
sion in social service must never be divorced in theory 
nor in practice. 

The Reaction of the School upon Society. — The con- 
tinuous reaction of the school upon society is one of the 
greatest social discoveries of all times. The schools 
may, in a brief generation or two, transform the spirit 
and purpose of a great nation, as did the schools of 
Germany after 1870. In the light of this tremendous 
educational experiment and in view of the open dis- 
loyalty of thousands of American citizens, the wide- 
spread illiteracy in our nation, the terrible condition as 
to the prevailing ignorance of the laws of health re- 
vealed by the World War, all loyal Americans should 
put new emphasis on the supreme national importance 
of providing public schools in every community where 
the young citizens of the republic may be systematically 
trained for their responsibilities in a democracy. 

This swift reaction of the school upon society is made 
easily possible because nearly one-fourth of our popu- 
lation are enrolled in our public and private schools, 
and they are the one-fourth whose minds are open to 
instruction, whose ideals can be modified, and whose 
habits of social conduct can be formed on right lines. 
To this great company of learners the school transmits 
the culture of the ages and re-makes it on democratic 
principles in passing it on. Among them the school 
effaces class divisions and snobbery, fosters a democratic 
spirit, creates anew the ideals of freedom, justice, and 
equality, and forms habits of thought and action that 
result in far-reaching social, industrial, and political 
reforms when these boys and girls leave the school to 
assume an active part in the government of the com- 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 91 

munity, the State, and the nation. Thus society, 
through efficient schools, may be constantly re-made 
and improved. 

Americanization. — As an illustration of the power of 
our American public school, even with all of its short- 
comings, to modify and improve society, we need but 
to review the work it has done for the children of the 
immigrant. In the public school the child of the im- 
migrant enjoys the same opportunity for education as 
the child of the native-born citizen; he recites to the 
same teachers, studies the same lessons, plays the same 
games, is subject to the same rules. Through the school 
life America is interpreted to these potential citizens in 
terms of equality and fair play, in terms of health and 
comfortable surroundings, in terms of opportunity and 
a " square deal" for every man. In our public schools 
these children from other lands learn our common lan- 
guage, our common history and ideals. They are ad- 
mitted as equal partners into America's priceless heri- 
tage of liberty, wrought out here by the sturdy pioneers 
of freedom at the cost of infinite toil and sacrifice. In 
our public schools they learn that the real America is 
not simply a new land but a new spirit of progress 
and forward-looking, a constant aspiration of the soul 
for the thing that is better, a continuous searching of 
the heart and striving of the will to realize the best 
dreams and hopes of humanity. Real Americanization 
means a re-birth. In its larger sense it is the gate 
through which every child of the republic, whether 
born in the United States or in some foreign land, must 
enter the temple of true American citizenship. 

Marks of a Good Citizen. — The supreme test of the 
"good citizen' ' is institutional behavior. Institutional 
behavior is concerned with such questions as these: 



92 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

How does a man treat his family and behave in the 
home? Does he send his children to school? Does he 
vote intelligently, and vote his real convictions, and 
pay his taxes willingly? Does he earn his living by 
working honestly in some useful vocation? Does he 
keep the laws of his country and the Ten Command- 
ments without being watched? The family, the state, 
vocations, the school, and the church are the funda- 
mental institutions of Christian civilization. They com- 
prehend all human relations. Each one represents a 
group of persons with common interests who are asso- 
ciated for team-work and mutual helpfulness, Among 
these groups there is constant interaction and each in 
turn is served and modified by all the others. Good 
citizenship is the result of consistent practice in useful 
service to society through these institutions. 

In "American Citizens and Their Government," Dr. 
Kenneth Colegrove describes the " model American 
citizen" in these words: "Citizens of this republic should 
assuredly know that the democratic state must always 
reflect the character of its citizens. The American 
people and their government are not two separate and 
distinct entities, but a composite one. No model state 
can exist in practice until its virtues are realized in the 
lives of a majority of its citizens. Such citizens will 
strive to educate themselves politically. They will 
study the current problems in government. They will 
seek to understand the workings of political parties 
and will endeavor to make their influence felt in the 
councils of the party of their choice. They will realize 
that it is far better to prevent the nomination and elec- 
tion of corrupt and dishonest men than to attempt to 
recall them or annul their vicious acts after they have 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 93 

been in the office. And if such citizens aspire to office 
themselves, their strongest motive will be the oppor- 
tunity and privilege of rendering a full measure of hon- 
est endeavor to promote the welfare of the republic." 

Training Good American Citizens in the Schools. — If 
our nation is to endure as a free democratic society its 
children must be trained into law-abiding, self-support- 
ing, and self-directing citizens. A great scientist re- 
cently declared that knowledge has outstripped the 
moral sense, and that our greatly increased power over 
nature has not been used with corresponding growth 
of conscience and sense of responsibility. Many years 
ago a world-famous historian wrote of our democracy: 
"As for America, I appeal to the Twentieth Century. 
Either some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of 
government with a strong hand, or your republic will 
be as fearfully plundered and laid waste by barbarians 
in the Twentieth Century as the Roman Empire was in 
the Fifth, with this difference, that the Huns and Van- 
dals who ravaged Rome came from without her borders, 
while your Huns and Vandals will be engendered in 
your own country and by your own institutions." 

Again, one of the greatest students of social evolu- 
tion of the last century, Herbert Spencer, wrote to a 
friend in America, "We in England have bad times 
before us, and you have still more dreadful times be- 
fore you — civil war, immense bloodshed, and eventu- 
ally military despotism of the severest type." 

One of the most startling revelations of the World 
War was the entire possibility that our present civili- 
zation may be destroyed and great modern nations 
become "one with Nineveh and Tyre." No wonder, 
then, that thoughtful and loyal Americans ever} 7 where 



94 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and great patriotic organizations, like the American 
Legion, are insisting on the systematic and continuous 
instruction and training of all pupils in our schools in 
the duties and obligations of citizenship. Such a sys- 
tem of training must include several important features, 
(i) Training in Citizenship Must Be Based upon the 
Fundamental Principles of Democracy. — The essential 
principles of democracy in America are: (i) That every 
individual is endowed with certain natural rights; (2) 
that these rights are to be secured through a government 
deriving its powers from the consent of the governed; 

(3) that the consent of the governed means the will of 
the majority as expressed in constitutions and laws; 

(4) that to such constitutions and laws every individual 
owes loyal and unqualified obedience. 

(2) Training in Citizenship Must Have a Definite Pro- 
gramme. — The minimum essentials of such a programme 
are: (1) Ability to read and write the English language; 
(2) instruction in saving and promoting health; (3) prepa- 
ration for a useful vocation; (4) opportunity in every vo- 
cation to develop capacity for higher work; (5) knowledge 
of American history and government; (6) constant prac- 
tice of civic duties as a part of school training; (7) ap- 
preciation of American ideals and a right attitude 
toward them. 

(3) Training in Citizenship Requires a Rational 
Method. — " Civic Training Through Service" is the 
slogan of the Junior Red Cross. Most of our grown-up 
citizens act as if they thought that voting one's party 
ticket unintelligently is the whole duty of a citizen. 
During the World War it was demonstrated that the 
boys and girls in our public schools can become active 
participants in carrying on great State and national 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 95 

enterprises in food conservation, Liberty Loan Drives, 
Red Cross activities, farm reserve labor, patriotic meet- 
ings, Boy Scout work, sale of thrift stamps, health cru- 
sades, civic pageants, and numerous other forms of useful 
service. The opportunities for pupils to render such 
service to the community and the state did not cease 
with the World War. They abound in every community 
in times of peace. The young citizen as a pupil in the 
school is as vitally concerned as is the grown-up citizen 
in the affairs of the community in which he lives — in 
its health protection, its water supply, its pure-food 
inspection, its police efficiency, its fire department, its 
public buildings, its libraries, parks, and playgrounds, 
its heating, lighting, street-car service, and sewerage, 
its traffic rules, its streets and alleys and back-yards. 
The pupil as a school citizen should study these problems 
first-hand. The project, or laboratory method, of civic 
training is the only worth-while method. Mere text- 
book instruction plus a little flag-waving will not 
succeed in training boys and girls in right institutional 
behavior. The organization and management of the 
school must be such that pupils have a chance to live 
democracy and to learn the duties of the larger citizen- 
ship of State and nation through the practice of the 
duties of their school citizenship. Pupils should real- 
ize that in the school they are living every day in a so- 
cial environment whose laws bind them for their own 
good. The materials for civic training and instruc- 
tion must be related vitally to the pupiPs daily life, 
grow out of his environment, and cause him to modify 
his civic conduct in school and out of it as fast as the 
knowledge of his duties is acquired. Every school 
should be so organized as to provide a programme of ac- 



96 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

tivities that afford large opportunities for developing 
initiative, the spirit of investigation, resourcefulness, 
co-operation, and a knowledge of the interdependence 
of all the groups and classes that make up the school 
as a whole. Democracy itself is only a great school in 
which men and women may live happily and usefully 
and freely solely on condition that they have acquired 
a living consciousness that free government is the re- 
sult of intelligent team-work, that all laws are agree- 
ments that we make with each other, that all healthy 
community life is based upon the common needs and 
interests of its various groups, and that all the individ- 
uals and groups of society must live through the mutual 
exchange of useful service. 

(4) Training in Citizenship Demands Competent and 
Patriotic Teachers. — By far the most important factor 
in the efficient training of boys and girls in citizenship 
is the teacher. The teacher embodies in concrete form 
the spirit and ideals of America and is the duly ap- 
pointed representative of all groups and classes of so- 
ciety. Here is the teacher's priceless opportunity to 
render a patriotic service to the State and the nation. 
Our national educational ideal should be to have in 
every school-room a healthy, competent, well-trained 
teacher, heartily in sympathy with American ideals. 

The School Citizens' Creed. — In the public school of 
the city of Puyallup, Washington, I heard a great com- 
pany of pupils recite with evident understanding and 
enthusiasm this civic creed: 

"I am a citizen of Puyallup, of Washington, and of the 
United States. 

"I will help to make my city a clean, healthful, and 
beautiful place in which to live. 



DEMOCRACY AND COMMON SCHOOLS 97 

"I will help make my State better by obeying the laws, 
and by helping others to obey them. 

"I will be a good American and will always love my 
country and my country's flag. 

"I will learn to make an honest living, so that I may 
be happy myself and be helpful to others. 

"I will always try to be fair in play and true in work. 

"I will be kind to every living thing, especially the 
poor, the weak, the old. 

"I pledge these services to my City, my State, my 
Country." 

In a recent address, John R. Mott said: "If I had my 
life to live over again, I would emphasize tenfold more 
than I have the strategic importance of training boys 
for efficient citizenship and useful service while they 
are boys J 1 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Dewey, "Democracy and Education," chaps. II, VII; K. W. 
Colegrove, "American Citizens and Their Government," chaps. 
Ill, XI, XIV; U. S. Bureau of Education, "Lessons in Com- 
munity and National Life," Series A, B, and C, 1918, and 
"Lessons in Civics for the Six Elementary Grades," 1920 
Dixon, "Americanization," chaps. I, III, VI, X; W. H. Allen 
"Universal Training for Citizenship and Public Service," chaps 
II, III, V; Bonser, "The Elementary School Curriculum/ 
chap. XVII; Bobbitt, "The Curriculum," chaps. XI, XII 
Strayer and Engelhardt, "The Classroom Teacher," chap. VI 
Judd, "The Evolution of a Democratic School System"; J. K 
Hart, " Democracy in Education," chaps. XXXIV, XXXVI 
Cope, " Education for Democracy "; Finney, "American Public 
Schools." 



CHAPTER VIII 
NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 

The Five Phases of the Teacher's Work. — Organiza- 
tion, management, instruction, training, and discipline are 
the five main functions of the teacher. In a broad sense 
all of these processes are included under the term School 
Management or School Economy. In rural schools, all 
five of these functions are combined in one and the same 
teacher; and this is also true of small graded schools. In 
large graded schools, in which the law of the division of 
labor can be applied, a teacher may perform only one or 
two of these functions. One teacher may be set apart to 
give his entire time and attention to organization and 
management, while other teachers give their whole time 
to instruction. But in every case where a teacher has 
charge of a room, or grade, of thirty to fifty boys and girls, 
that teacher must unite within himself the offices of or- 
ganizer, manager, instructor, trainer, and ruler. In the 
daily work of the school these functions blend and mingle, 
moving forward together; but for the purpose of clear dis- 
cussion the lines of division between them must be ob- 
served. Young people who go out into a rural community 
to teach their first term confront a very difficult problem 
in school organization. Unless they have read some good 
book on rural-school work and have studied in advance 
their special school they are sure to make serious mis- 
takes at the first, and these mistakes will cripple their 
usefulness very much. 

Organization Must Come First. — Organization must pre- 
pare the way for all the other work of the teacher and the 






IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 99 

school. Without it proper instruction, training, and dis- 
cipline are impossible. The great law of school organiza- 
tion is the law of co-operation. The object of organiza- 
tion is to make this law effective. 

To organize a school is to bring all the classes represented 
in the school, all the educational forces of the community, 
into such relations of harmony, union, and efficiency that 
the aims of the school may be fully realized. Raymont 
says: "Organization signifies, in general, the arrange- 
ment of the parts of a complex whole with a view to its 
smooth and effective working." A school is organized 
when the pupils are properly classified and graded and 
all the work of the school is definitely arranged and pro- 
grammed. The objects of organization are (i) to secure 
steady and productive work from each member of every 
class all the time; (2) to remove friction, prevent confusion, 
forestall disorder, and save time and energy; (3) to make 
universal education possible by enabling one teacher to 
instruct efficiently many pupils in one class; (4) to afford 
pupils the opportunity of forming right habits; (5) to 
secure the prompt despatch of the business of the school. 

A school is well organized and well managed when it is 
ready to do effective work, when the conditions for study 
and recitation are made as favorable as possible for every 
pupil, when the interest and hearty co-operation of the 
school board, the parents, and the taxpayers have been 
secured, when there is perfect sympathy between teacher 
and pupils, and when the arrangement of the work of the 
school tends to promote in the pupils diligent study, self- 
effort, right ideals, and self-control. 

The Teacher's Share in Organizing the School. — A por- 
tion of the work included under school organization the 
teacher usually finds already accomplished. Much of this 



100 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

preparatory work has been done by the State, the school 
officers, and the taxpayers. Thus the teacher usually 
finds ready at hand school buildings, a course of study, a 
library, apparatus, text-books, rules and regulations. Of 
course all of these things are of no avail unless the teacher 
has the skill to combine them and use them to advantage 
in the daily work of instruction. 

The teacher's share in organization includes the classifi- 
cation and grading of pupils, making the programme, ar- 
ranging signals, determining promotions, looking after the 
hygienic conditions and the seating, making minor rules 
and regulations as to regularity, tardiness, hall order, 
leaving the room, care of books and materials. 

Importance of the Teacher's Work as Organizer. — The 
success of the school depends very greatly upon the wisdom 
and thoroughness with which the teacher performs his part 
in the organization of the school. Defective organization 
results in tremendous educational waste and is one of the 
most common causes of failure in the management of 
schools. 

Baldwin says: "I have visited more than a thousand 
country schools and have not found one in twenty well 
organized. Many of the worst organized schools I have 
found in the hands of teachers claiming from five to forty 
years of experience. Most of these proved to be the self- 
sufficient, all-sufficient, inefficient kind that can learn 
nothing from others." Organization puts each pupil in 
his proper place, assigns to each class its proper work, 
secures to each subject its just share of time, and arranges 
the entire work of the school so as to maintain quiet and 
order and encourage right conduct 

Organization Must be Planned. — The great educational 
value of good school organization is not appreciated by 



IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 101 

the average teacher. Many young people begin the work 
of teaching without knowing what to do to organize a 
school. They have made no plan for the first day, formed 
no ideal of the kind of school they want to have. They do 
not understand the problems involved in organization. 
They stand before the school embarrassed and awkward. 
They hesitate and blunder and must often go back to cor- 
rect mistakes that should not have been made. Their 
lack of skill and preparation is easily detected by the pupils, 
who speedily improve the opportunity to make trouble. 
An evil report goes out over the neighborhood, and it may 
take weeks to remove the unfavorable impression caused 
by such a beginning. 

Value of Good Organization to the Pupil. — As the condi- 
tions of American life have changed, boys and girls do not 
have the opportunities for systematic work and the forma- 
tion of regular habits that they formerly did. Then the 
work of the farm, the small shop, and the home afforded 
an excellent means of training the young in regular em- 
ployment. Now, when millions of children are reared in 
cities, and inventions have so changed the modes of pro- 
duction that machinery does the work that boys and girls 
used to do in the home, the school must do some things for 
children that the home formerly did. Above all, the 
school must afford pupils the opportunity to do regular, 
systematic work, to form the habits of regularity, punc- 
tuality, industry, perseverance, accuracy, and rapidity in 
work. It must furnish a daily round of employment that 
calls forth the child's best efforts. The formation of the 
habit of systematic work is absolutely essential to make 
a strong and reliable manhood or womanhood. As W. H. 
Bender well says: "It is the salvation of the youth of 
our land to have a daily routine of definite duties to 



102 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

engage their attention with regularly recurring periods of 
vigorous effort and sensible relaxation." It is simply im- 
possible for a poorly organized school to be efficient in this 
important work; hence the great value of good organization. 

Organization Implies Mechanism. — It seems quite im- 
possible for some advanced educators to distinguish be- 
tween a system and the abuse of a system. They talk 
much about the machinery of the schools, the "lock-step" 
plan of classification, the "evils of examinations," the 
" military precision," the "mass instruction." They assert 
that organization and system in the school are imposed 
upon the child from without, that they are restrictive and 
repressive, that they do not regard the individuality of 
pupils, that they destroy originality and initiative, and that 
there is no such thing as the "average pupil." It would 
seem that the ideal school of these writers would be a 
school without classes, grades, recitations, or regulations; 
in fact, a return to the good old plan of the ungraded school, 
where "individual instruction" prevailed and every pupil 
was a law unto himself — a relapse into Rousseau's Utopia 
of the "Natural" state. 

No one denies that organization may be carried too far, 
that system may be abused, that school machinery may 
become cumbersome, that "red-tape" methods may pre- 
vail, that the machine spirit may permeate instruction and 
discipline to such an extent that recitations may become 
a dead formality, and that the school may afford no oppor- 
tunity for originality and the development of self-control 
on the part of the pupil. But all these are the abuses of 
organization and not a necessary outcome of it, and it is 
neither good sense nor good logic to abolish all organiza- 
tion because of its abuses at the hands of pedagogical 
drill-masters and machine teachers. 



IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 103 

A Self -regulating System.- — Much of the daily routine of 
school work should be purely automatic. It ought not to 
be left to the fancy or the reason or the inclination of the 
pupils whether they will study this or that lesson, recite 
now or at some other time, come to the class or remain 
at the seat, obey signals or disregard them, come to school 
when they please and stay out when they choose. Pupils 
should form the habit of performing all the necessary minor 
details of the school automatically, in exact time and with 
the precision of a machine. They should begin to form 
these habits the very first day of school, and the teacher 
should see to it that they do so without arguing or 
dawdling. 

"An important device in school management," says 
White, "is the adoption of a self-regulating system — a 
system as nearly self-regulating as may be possible." 
This is especially true in primary grades where very little 
can be left to the individual judgment of the pupils. 
Among the details that must be included in this self- 
regulating system are such movements as (i) prompt 
obedience to all signals; (2) moving lines up and down 
stairways; (3) passing to and from recitation seats and 
black-board; (4) distributing and collecting wraps, books, 
paper, pens, pencils, and all other materials; (5) the posi- 
tion of pupils when reciting or studying; (6) the sharpening 
of pencils, care of apparatus, and arrangement of books on 
the desks. 

The Common-sense Factors in Organization. — However 
perfect the system by which all these minor operations of 
the school are regulated, there will still be daily and hourly 
opportunities for the teacher to exercise tact, originality, 
sound discretion, and common-sense. Schools cannot be 
organized once for all and then left to run themselves. 



104 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Wherever there is life there must be continual change, 
growth, adaptation, and readjustment. Constant care and 
accurate judgment on the part of the teacher are necessary 
to foresee and direct these changes and preserve the school 
organization. This is the province of school management 
in its narrower meaning. Besides this, the teacher, as we 
have seen, must unite in himself the functions of organizer, 
manager, instructor, trainer, and ruler, and to maintain 
the proper relation among these requires sure-footed judg- 
ment. Again, with the best of pupils, mishaps may occur 
at any moment that require skill, tact, and forbearance 
on the part of the teacher. He must be ever alert to dis- 
cover the needs of individual pupils, to guard against 
interruptions of the recitation, and to "nip in the bud" 
every tendency to disorder. He must be wise enough to 
invent the best plans for conducting the work of the school, 
and to adapt these plans to the season, to the conditions 
of the building, to the classes, to the course of study, and 
to the time of day. He must be self-controlled enough to 
keep his temper in spite of the most provoking accidents, 
like the spilling of ink, the tardiness of a pupil, or the 
breaking of a window-pane. 

Qualifications of the Teacher as Organizer. — It is a mat- 
ter of common observation in educational work that the 
successful organizer may not be the best instructor. On 
the other hand, some teachers who are excellent class 
instructors are poor organizers. It is plain that there are 
certain special qualities that are essential to make a suc- 
cessful organizer. 

(i) A Good Understanding of Human Nature, — The 
good organizer must understand people and know how to 
meet them on their own plane of thinking. He must be 
quick to detect the common ground between himself and 



IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 105 

them, the points of agreement, and must be tactful in 
avoiding the ground where disagreement and antagonism 
may arise. The teacher must deal with all classes in the 
community, and must learn to respect the motives, opinions, 
and beliefs of those who differ from him — must learn to be 
tolerant and patient in dealing with the most bigoted, 
ignorant, and unreasonable people. 

(2) A Constructive Imagination. — The good organizer 
must see clearly what he wants to do, and the kind of 
school he wishes to have. It is this creative power of 
seeing the end from the beginning that enables the archi- 
tect to form an image of the finished structure even before 
the foundation has been laid, or the general to plan a suc- 
cessful campaign. The man with constructive imagina- 
tion sees clearly both the end to be attained, and the 
best means of attaining it. He pictures not only the ef- 
fects of causes, but causes in the operation of producing 
effects; not merely the thing desirable, but the thing possi- 
ble; not alone the "angel in the block of marble," but the 
strokes of the hammer necessary to set the angel free; not 
St. Peter's Church completed, but St. Peter's in process of 
construction. The teacher as organizer must be able to 
see the ideal school, both as a result to be achieved, and 
as a series of processes producing such a result. He must 
see the means to be used, not as abstract principles and 
educational theories, but as concrete causes and living 
realities bringing things to pass. He must realize that as 
soon as this process of creation is checked the life of the 
school goes out. He must realize that the school should 
never become a fixed, rigid, finished thing, or a mere 
machine, but must ever be an organism capable of growth, 
adaptation, and ever-increasing effectiveness. He will 
never attempt to substitute "red taDe" for common-sense, 



106 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

nor to organize the school for his own personal ease* 
benefit, or emolument. He will recognize fully that ah 
the means used in organization must grow out of the nature 
of the school itself and must be in harmony with the great 
law of co-operation and with the aims and ideals for which 
our American schools were founded. 

(3) Confidence in His Ability to Plan Work, — Ability to 
plan work for other people to do is another mark of the 
successful organizer. This confidence must not be the 
blind egotism of ignorance; it must be a confidence that 
grows out of a careful study of all the problems in school 
organization, a confidence inspired by a clear insight into 
the nature, aims, and work of the school. Without such 
confidence the teacher as organizer will not trust his own 
judgment, will not plan wisely nor consistently, will be 
weak and faltering in action, given to making rules without 
enforcing them, and bewildering every one by his frequent 
changes, fickleness, and lack of decision. Such an or- 
ganizer cannot inspire confidence in the school board, win 
the co-operation of patrons, or command the respect of 
pupils. 

(4) Must be Practical and Sensible. — The good organizer 
is practical. He does not attempt the impossible. He 
does not unduly hasten reforms, for he knows that evolu- 
tion is better than revolution. He does not antagonize 
his school board or stubbornly contend for trifles. His 
love of order and system does not betray him into putting 
undue emphasis on non-essentials or blind him to actual 
facts. He is reasonable in his demands upon the board, 
the parents, and the pupils. He does not assume to be 
infallible nor is he over-sensitive to criticism. He knows 
enough to keep his own temper when other people lose 
theirs. He makes allowance for the thoughtlessness of 



IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 107 

children and does not regard every offence as a personal 
matter — a malicious attempt of the pupils to annoy him. 
(5) A Broad Social Outlook. — A good organizer will see 
the relation of the school to the other forces and factors of 
society and will strive in every way to create a helpful 
school spirit in the community. He will endeavor to allay 
strife and to secure unity of effort on all educational lines. 
Such an organizer can make the school a means of uplift 
and blessing to the entire community — make it the centre 
and rallying-point of all good influences for the training of 
the children and the betterment of the social and moral life 
of the neighborhood. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bagley, "Classroom Management," chap. Ill; Button and 
Snedden, "Public School Administration," chaps. VII, VIII, 
IX; Perry, "The Management of a City School," chap. X; 
Tompkins, "School Management," pp. 1-24; Bennett, "School 
Efficiency," chap. XII; Strayer and Thorndike, "Educational 
Administration," Part I. 



CHAPTER IX 
NATURE OF THE SCHOOL 

I. The School as an Organism. — It has been said that 
the school can exist with a Mark Hopkins on one end of a 
log and a Garfield on the other. Such a statement is a 
confusion of terms. It assumes that the teaching process 
is all there is to a school. It ignores the fact that the 
school is an institution formed by the union of many 
classes, or elements. To say that the teacher and the 
pupils alone constitute the school is to say that a part is 
equal to the whole. It is to single out instruction, or 
teaching, as the one and only function of the school. But 
without proper organization, instruction is wellnigh impos- 
sible. It often happens that the teacher's most difficult 
and perplexing problems are outside of the school-house. 
The school is not a mere process, nor is it solely a me- 
chanical or material thing. It does not cease to exist 
in vacation, nor is it destroyed when school-houses burn 
or crumble into ruins. Pupils and teachers come and go; 
taxpayers die; patrons move away; school officers are 
constantly changing; yet the school survives. The real 
school is a spiritual thing. It is a fundamental principle 
embodied in an institution. This fundamental principle 
is co-operation of all the forces of the community for the 
systematic training of children. 

Co-operation the Life of the School. — Co-operation is 
the life of the school. The real school is the union of all 

108 



NATURE OF THE SCHOOL 109 

the classes composing it for the purpose of educating the 
child. The very best school that any community can 
have is found where the State, the school officers, the tax- 
payers, the parents, the pupils, and the teacher all work 
together harmoniously and effectively to accomplish the 
aims for which the school exists. On the other hand, the 
worst school that any community can have is found where 
there is the least co-operation among these classes. Be- 
tween these two extremes there are all grades of schools, 
good and bad. 

The great problem of school organization is to secure 
the efficient, hearty co-operation of all the classes repre- 
sented in the school. That teacher is the best organizer 
who secures this intelligent co-operation and uses it wisely 
for the improvement of the pupil. What life is to the 
plant or the animal, co-operation is to the school. In this 
sense the school is an organism. The classes represented 
in the school are the organs of which it is composed. Each 
organ has its own work to perform, and all work together 
for the good of the whole. 

Paul's Illustration. — The illustration that Paul uses in 
I Cor., chap. 12, is just as appropriate when applied 
to a school as to a church: "For the school is one body 
and hath many members. And the teacher cannot say 
to the parents, ( I have no need of you'; nor again to 
the school officers, 'I have no need of you.' Nor can the 
school officers say to the taxpayers, 'We have no need 
of you.' And whether one member suffer, all the mem- 
bers suffer with it; or one member is honored, all the 
members rejoice with it," A poor school is the result of 
a lack of helpful co-operation among the several members, 
or organs, of the school, just as a diseased body is the result 
of some one or more organs failing to do the work for 



110 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

which they are designed. The daily work of the most 
efficient teacher is crippled wherever there is a failure on 
the part of school officers to provide a good school-house, 
comfortable seats, proper heating, good ventilation, and 
decent out-buildings. No teacher, however faithful and 
capable, can entirely overcome the injury to the school 
caused by quarrels among patrons and by the indifference 
and carelessness of parents who take no pains to have their 
children regular in attendance and obedient to the rules 
of the school. In this sense it is not true that " as is the 
teacher, so is the school." 

The Teacher's Work as Organizer. — We have spoken of 
the school as an organism, like the human body. Now 
just as there is in the body one organ whose special function 
is to bring into co-operative relation all the other organs 
of the body, so in the school there must be one member 
whose duty it is to bring all the other members of the 
school into unity of purpose and action. In the body this 
organ is the brain; in the school this member is the 
teacher. The teacher as an organizer must unite, inspire, 
and direct all the educational forces of the community. 
While he must always conform to public sentiment in 
school matters, he must, in fact, shape and re-form that 
sentiment. While he must obey strictly and in good faith 
the school officers from whom he derives his legal authority, 
he must, as a matter of fact, suggest and carry out the 
policy to be pursued in educational progress. While he 
must secure the good-will of his pupils and plan all his 
work for their good, he must, nevertheless, shape their 
ideals, direct their work, and set up their standards of 
scholarship and conduct. Thus it will be seen that while 
the school has many organs, or members, and that all of 
them are necessary to the work of the school as a whole, 



NATURE OF THE SCHOOL 111 

the teacher is in reality the great unifying, vitalizing, and 
directing power. 

Some Members of the School are Out of Sight. — Just as 
very much of the work of the different organs of the body 
is entirely absent from our consciousness, so also very 
much of the work' of the school is not in the thoughts of the 
teacher and the pupils in the school-room. The more re- 
mote parts of the system drop out of sight in the actual life 
of the school. The State, the taxpayers, the directors^ the 
superintendent, the patron, are lost sight of, and the con- 
scious process of education is confined to teachers and 
pupils. It is for the very purpose of producing this con- 
scious relation and contact between teacher and pupils 
and making it effective that all the other parts of the 
school organism exist. This vital, face-to-face contact 
and spiritual union of pupils and teacher in their daily 
work is the great life principle of the school as an organism. 

II. The School as an Industrial Organization. — But 
lest some matter-of-fact people fail to grasp this conception 
of the school as a social organism, let us consider the nature 
of the school from another stand-point. There is a sense 
in which every good school is an industrial organization. 
Here again the great law of co-operation is the funda- 
mental fact. Every industrial organization, great or small, 
represents combination of effort, a partnership between 
labor and capital. There must be a manager to plan and 
direct the work. Every laborer has his specific task, yet 
the work of all tends to the accomplishment of the same 
end. In order that a workman may hold his job, he must 
abide by certain rules. He must be regularly at his post 
of duty, must be punctual, must do his work neatly and 
be saving of material, must be accurate, industrious, and 
obedient 



112 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Now, as Mr. White has pointed out, these virtues that 
are the basis of all industrial pursuits are exactly the same 
virtues which every good school must demand of its pupils. 
The organization and work of the school require combina- 
tion of effort, regularity, punctuality, accuracy, industry, 
and obedience, and thus the school becomes a training 
place for acquiring just those habits that make men and 
women successful in their industrial life. 

Value of the School in Forming Industrial Habits. — It 
must not be forgotten that the great majority of the pupils 
in our public schools are to join the great army of the 
world's industrial workers. No matter what their chosen 
work may be, their success will depend fully as much upon 
the habits which they have formed in school as it will upon 
the knowledge they have gained. If in the school pupils 
have formed the habits of diligent, persistent application 
to the task in hand, of prompt and implicit compliance 
with necessary rules and regulations, of resisting tempta- 
tions to dally and shirk, of cheerfully working with others 
to accomplish certain results, they will go out into industrial 
life with every prospect of success. Under modern condi- 
tions children do not acquire these habits in the ordinary 
home, hence the great importance of this phase of school 
training is apparent. Miss Charlotte M.\ Mason, in 
''Home Education/' says: "How great the value of 
school discipline is to girls, they can appreciate who have 
had experience of the vagueness, inaccuracy, want of ap- 
plication, desultoriness, want of conscience about work, 
dawdling habits of young women brought up at home under 
the care of governesses. Of course there are exceptions, 
but for habits of work, power of work, conscientious en- 
deavor in her work, the faithful school-girl is, as a rule, 
far before the girl who has not undergone school disci- 



NATURE OF THE SCHOOL 113 

pline." There can be no doubt that the habits which are 
formed by doing the regular daily tasks of a good school 
become a very important factor in the industrial efficiency 
and success of the pupils. 

III. The School as a Social Community. — In discussing 
the nature of the school, there is still another fact that is 
worthy of our consideration. No matter what pupil? may 
do or where they may live after they leave the school, they 
will be members of some social community. Every 
teacher should understand that the school ought to be a 
most efficient means in training pupils for this social 
citizenship. School life is the connecting link between the 
home and the community. In fact, every school is a little 
social community in itself. No school can be a good one 
in which the pupils are not trained to be polite and courte- 
ous to each other and to their teachers, to be honest and 
truthful, to be just and kind, to be helpful and sympathetic. 
And no pupil who acquires these social habits can be a bad 
neighbor. 

Social Training in the School. — It is not meant that the 
teacher is to teach these habits in set lessons. What is 
meant is that the very nature of the school affords daily 
and hourly practice in these fundamental social virtues. 
If the school is properly organized and conducted it be- 
comes a powerful influence in forming the social ideals 
and habits of the pupils. Pupils are closely associated in 
all their work. Under the eye of a cultured, refined teacher 
the social standards of the school are, at least, as high as 
the best standards of the community. Lower standards 
are crowded out. Rudeness, vulgarity, injustice, dis- 
honesty, lying, and meanness are repressed. Pupils must 
meet as equals, must learn to treat each other with con- 
sideration, to criticise classmates in a kindly spirit, to 



114 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

respect the rights of others, to subject their individual 
preferences to the general welfare, and to cultivate the 
spirit of helpfulness and sympathy. This is effective train- 
ing in the social virtues. 

IV. The School as an Institution. — The school is so 
commonly referred to as "an institution" that it is 
worth our while to understand clearly the real meaning of 
this term. To most people an institution means some 
material thing or some external form. The idea back of 
this external form is seldom thought of; yet in reality this 
idea is the very essence of an institution. The external 
form is only the material means through which the idea 
manifests itself. 

An institution, then, is a system of laws, or regulations, 
containing within itself a vital principle by which it ac- 
complishes certain results, perpetuates itself, and pro- 
motes its own development. The object of an institution 
is to originate and direct a series of acts to accomplish a 
continuous result. Institutions are to society what habits 
are to individuals. They substitute intelligent, regular, 
and continuous action for spasmodic, irregular, and un- 
certain action. At the very core of every important insti- 
tution there is some great idea or principle, so that an 
institution is a principle embodied in some tangible form. 

An Illustration. — The Christian Church is an institution. 
Its external form is seen in churches and cathedrals, in 
music and altars, in prayers and sermons and sacraments. 
But back of all these is the great idea of man's relation to 
God. Generations of men come and go, centuries pass, 
yet the Church as an institution lives on, perpetuates itself, 
and promotes its own development. 

Application to the School. — The school, too, is an insti- 
tution. It is the embodiment of a great principle, a great 



NATURE OF THE SCHOOL 115 

idea. This idea is the development of each individual 
child into a useful member of society through a process of 
continuous, systematic instruction outside of the home. 
This idea of the development of the child is not to be under- 
stood as a matter that concerns the child alone. Rousseau 
was mistaken when he assumed that the individual child 
is to be educated simply for his own sake. The claims 
of society upon the school cannot be ignored in this fashion. 
The child is to become a member of society, a social unit, 
and it is as absurd to talk of educating a child wholly by 
himself and for himself as it is to think of developing a 
bee or an ant apart from the hive or the hill. Thus every 
influence that society can command stands pledged to the 
success and welfare of the public school as an institution. 
The external forms of this institution are school funds, 
school-houses, classes, recitations, black-boards, books, and 
courses of study. All of these external things are con- 
stantly changing, but the school as an institution remains, 
and will remain as long as the great idea of developing the 
child through systematic, continuous instruction shall live. 
Therefore, from every point of view we see that co-opera- 
tion is the great principle, the vital law, underlying all 
school organization and school work. This is true of the 
school as an organism, as an industrial organization, as a 
social community, and as an institution. 

School Organization. — No adequate conception of the 
nature of school organization can exist in the mind of the 
teacher who fails to keep in mind this great law of co- 
operation. How to unite and correlate all the social, 
political, family, moral, and religious forces of the com- 
munity for the purpose of promoting the development of 
the pupil into an intelligent, useful, moral member of 
society — this is the central thought in school organization. 



116 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Everything that interferes with this co-operation is a 
hindrance to the child's development and tends to defeat, 
the very purpose of society in maintaining public schools. 
The purpose of school organization is to make the relation 
between teacher and pupils in the school-room as effective 
as possible in carrying out the aims of the school. This 
leads us naturally to a brief statement of these aims. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Robbins, "The School as a Social Institution," chap. X; 
Cubberley, "Changing Conceptions of Education," chaps. II, 
III; Curtis, "Education Through Play"; White, "School Man- 
agement," pp. 1 14-129; Tompkins, "School Management," pp. 
196-218; Snedden, "Sociological Determination of Objectives 
in Education." 



CHAPTER X 
AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 

General Aims of the School. — The general aims of the 
school have been summarized in definitions of educa- 
tion. These definitions may be classified under three 
heads: (i) Those which emphasize the capacity of the 
child to receive training; (2) those which put the em- 
phasis upon the office and function of the teacher; (3) 
those that put the stress upon preparing the child to be- 
come a member of society. It will be a very helpful 
exercise to the student to classify under these three heads 
some of the definitions of education. 

Memorable Definitions of Education. — (1) "The pur- 
pose of education is to give to the body and to the soul 
all the beauty and perfection of which they are capa- 
ble."— Plato, 

(2) "Education is the process by which one mind 
forms another mind, and one heart another heart." 
— Jules Simon. 

(3) "Education is preparation to live completely." 
— Herbert Spencer. 

(4) "Education is the full and harmonious develop- 
ment of all the powers of the child." — Pestalozzi. 

(5) "A complete and generous education fits a man 
to perform justly, skilfully, and magnanimously all the 
•fiices, both public and private, of peace and war." — 
John Milton. 

(6) "Education seeks, by social stimulus, guidance, 
and control, to develop the natural powers of the child, 

117 



118 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

so as to render him able and disposed to lead a healthy, 
happy, and morally worthy life." — Sully. 

(7) "Education is the preparation of the individual 
so that he can help his fellow-men and in return receive 
and appropriate their help." — W. T. Harris. 

(8) " Education may be tentatively denned, then, as 
the process by means of which the individual acquires 
experiences that will function in rendering more effi- 
cient his future action." — Bagley. 

(9) Dewey defines education from the sociological 
point of view as follows: — "With the renewal of physi- 
cal existence goes, in the case of human beings, the re- 
creation of beliefs, ideals, hopes, happiness, misery, 
and practices. The renewal of any experience, through 
renewing of the social group, is a literal fact. Educa- 
tion, in its broadest sense, is the means of this social 
continuity of life." 

On the side of the individual, Dewey defines educa- 
tion as "That reconstruction of experience which adds 
to the meaning of experience, and which increases ability 
to direct the course of subsequent experience." 

Why These Definitions of Education Are of Value to 
Teachers. — The aims of school education in a de- 
mocracy must be in harmony with the essential ideals 
of democracy itself. These ideals are the enrichment of 
life, the enlargement of liberty and self-direction, and 
the rational pursuit of happiness for all men. To be 
in harmony with these ideals, our public schools must 
aim to elevate the common man and to improve society 
as a whole; but these aims cannot be realized without 
a school education that develops in the common child 
such a degree of knowledge, power, and skill, such health 
and habits, social insight and moral control, such ideals 



AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 119 

and attitudes as will render him able and willing to con- 
tribute something of value to society. 

It cannot be too strongly emphasized that all effective 
school work implies a definite aim on the part of the 
teacher. The general aim of school education as set 
forth in these definitions is quite a different thing from 
the specific aim of some particular school exercise or 
lesson. But the specific aim of every lesson or exercise 
in the school derives its whole meaning and value from 
the fact that it is in harmony with the general aim of 
education, and that the lesson or exercise contributes 
something to the realization of this general aim. As 
in building the Brooklyn Bridge, one general plan, or 
aim, controlled and shaped the entire process of con- 
struction, while a thousand minor specific aims had to 
shape and direct all the various processes and details 
of construction, all the daily work of every laborer by 
which the final result was achieved, so must the great 
general aim of education control and shape all the work 
of the school. Thus the general aim of education is 
the standard of value by which we should measure the 
worth of school systems, courses of study, and each 
particular subject in the course. By this standard the 
teacher is to measure the value of every method, every 
device, every school appliance, every rule and exercise 
and lesson. 

Education as Preparation for Complete Living. — If 
we adopt Herbert Spencer's definition of education, let 
us see how all the work oi the school and all the plans 
of the teacher are dominated by this definition. "How 
to live," says Spencer, "that is the essential question 
for us. Not how to live in the mere material sense, but 
in the widest sense. The general problem which com- 



120 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

prebends every special problem is — the right ruling of 
conduct in all directions, under all circumstances. In 
what way to treat the body; in what way to treat the 
mind; in what way to manage our affairs; in what way 
to bring up a family; in what way to behave as a citi- 
zen; in what way to utilize all those sources of happi- 
ness which nature supplies — how to use all our faculties 
to the greatest advantage of ourselves and others — 
how to live completely. And this, being the great thing 
needful for us to learn, is, by consequence, the great 
thing which education has to teach. To prepare us for 
complete living is the function which education has to 
discharge. " Spencer then proceeds to classify, in the 
order of importance, the leading activities which con- 
stitute human life: (i) Those activities which directly 
minister to self-preservation; (2) those activities which, 
by securing the necessaries of life, indirectly minister t© 
self-preservation; (3) those activities which have for 
their end the rearing and discipline of offspring; (4) 
those activities which are involved in the maintenance 
of proper social and political relations; (5) those mis- 
cellaneous activities which make up the leisure part of 
life, devoted to the gratification of the tastes and feel- 
ings. 

Now, if preparation for complete living is set up as 
the general aim of education, it is clear that all school 
studies, lessons, methods, and exercises must be mea- 
sured by this standard. "The test of the ultimate 
aim," says Bagley, "must be applied at every point; 
otherwise the work of the school will lack system and 
harmony, and adequate results will be secured only 
through the operation of the law of chance." How 
and to what degree does this branch of study, this red- 



AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 121 

tation, this opening exercise, contribute toward one or 
more of the five objects included in complete living are 
questions that must always be uppermost in the teacher's 
planning. That is, all the minor and specific aims of 
the school, the subject, the aim and plan of every les- 
son, must be dominated by this general aim. 

It is hardly necessary to state that we are not to in- 
terpret Spencer's phrase "complete living" in the future 
tense merely. We know that life is not lived in futu- 
rity — except as an ideal; it is a "present-tense" affair. 
We know that life is a constant adjustment to environ- 
ment to promote growth. But growth what for? For 
more growth. And just as growth to-day is prepara- 
tion for more growth to-morrow, so life in school to- 
day is a preparation for completer life to-morrow, 
whether that life is lived in school or out of it. The 
life of a child in school or at play may be as "com- 
plete" for him as the life of an adult at work in his 
shop or office is for a grown-up man. There is a 
"social efficiency" for children as well as for men and 
women; but the child faces the future and education 
must face in the same direction. 

" Complete Living " Includes All the Specific Aims of 
the Modern School. — Spencer's classification of the ac- 
tivities included in "complete living" suggests these 
specific aims of the present-day school: 

(i) The Promotion of Vigorous Health. — "A sound 
mind in a sound body" is a famous old maxim which 
Locke declared is the short but complete definition of 
happiness. Yet, until quite recently, physical educa- 
tion has received little attention in our public schools. 
Not only so, but school-houses were built without any 
provision for decent ventilation or proper lighting and 



122 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

heating. In the last few years, however, there has 
been a marked change for the better. Most of the 
States have passed laws providing for physical educa- 
tion. School authorities and teachers have become 
keenly alive to the importance of conserving and pro- 
moting the health of school children. Fatigue, defects 
of vision and hearing, adenoids, diseased teeth, bad 
ventilation, uncomfortable seats, unmotivated work, 
lack of playgrounds, are all recognized as serious limi- 
tations to mental effort and normal growth. 

The teacher must reach the child's mind through his 
senses and nervous system, and no matter what the 
individual differences among pupils may be, there are 
bodily conditions of educational progress to which they 
are all alike subject. We have, at last, approached 
Spencer's views of the importance of physical educa- 
tion as expressed in the words: "Since vigorous health 
and'its accompanying high spirits are larger elements of 
happiness than any other things whatever, the teach- 
ing how to maintain them is a teaching that yields in 
importance to no other whatever." 

(2) Vocational Outlook and Guidance. — Individuals 
must have food, clothing, and shelter in order to live. 
They must earn these necessities for themselves or sub- 
sist on the charity of others. What a man does to earn 
his living, how he does it, how he spends his money 
and his leisure time, are of vital importance to the man 
himself and to society. Vocational training, not in the 
sense of turning our elementary schools into mere trade- 
schools and narrowing education to a process of acquir- 
ing skill in doing some specific work for pecuniary reward 
alone, but in the larger sense of making a worth-while 
life as well as making a living, may well constitute one 
of the specific aims of our schools. 



AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 123 

(3) Right Behavior in the Rome. — The family is the 
fundamental institution of society. What goes on in 
the home has more to do with the happiness of its mem- 
bers than all other things combined. Among the most 
important aims of the school are the instruction and 
training for right behavior in the home — personal 
cleanliness, team-work, sharing responsibility, kindly 
spirit, sympathy for the weaker members of the family, 
how to be better home-makers and home-keepers. 
Social good-will and efficiency are hardly possible with- 
out home efficiency. 

(4) Citizenship and Social Efficiency. — Modern ele- 
mentary schools must put great stress on training pupils 
in civic activities. The nineteenth amendment to our 
national constitution practically doubled our electorate 
by enfranchising women. More and more our govern- 
ment is substituting direct for indirect, or representa- 
tive, legislation. The initiative, the referendum, and 
the recall enable the people to determine the most im- 
portant political matters by a show of hands. Voting 
intelligently is only one item, although an important 
one, in the equipment of the citizen, for civic efficiency 
means obedience to the laws as well as intelligent par- 
ticipation in making laws; it includes social good- 
will and a desire to be useful; it denotes freedom from 
petty localism and class bitterness; it stands for State 
and national welfare and world outlook; it demands 
justice and equal opportunities for all. 

(5) Rational Enjoyment. — Since one of the aims of the 
schools in a democracy must be the elevation of the 
common man, it follows that the common child should 
be educated for the rational enjoyment of nature, for 
all the legitimate forms of physical and social recreation, 
and for the appreciation of the best art, music, and lit- 



124 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

erature. Vocational skill is purchased at too dear a 
price if it reduces the worker to a mere machine, with 
no love for his work and no pride in the product of his 
labor, or leaves him on the plane of a savage, with no 
appreciation of good literature, no knowledge of history 
and the common life of the race, no interest in other 
lands and other people, and no philosophy of life except 
the brute instinct of self-preservation. 

Significance of These Aims of the Modern School. — 
The profound significance of these aims of the modern 
school can be realized only by comparing them with 
the aims of the elementary schools of the past. It is 
hard for us to realize that only a few generations ago 
the great mass of people could neither read nor write. 
Books were rare and costly. About the time that Co- 
lumbus found a New World, the so-called "Revival of 
Learning' ' occurred. The printing-press was just com- 
ing into use. Modern literature had not been created. 
Science was in its infancy. About the only books to 
be printed were the Latin and Greek classics. The aim 
of education set up by the leading teachers of that day 
was the ability to read these classics in the original. 
Courses of study contained very little except Latin and 
Greek. Boys spent ten to fifteen years in mastering 
bulky Latin grammars and lexicons. They were for- 
bidden to use their mother tongue except on holidays. 
The learner of books was considered the ideal scholar. 
Little attention was given to substance or thought, and 
great stress was placed upon words. So it soon came 
to pass that teachers assumed that words in themselves 
possess some magic power by which knowledge can be 
imparted. The training of the pupil's senses and ob- 
serving powers was utterly neglected. Memorizing 



AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 125 

rules and exceptions, declensions, and conjugations be- 
came the sole work of the pupils, and " hearing recita- 
tions " the sole business of the teacher. School disci- 
pline was harsh and brutal, for such a course of study 
was wholly devoid of interest, and boys had to be forced 
to their daily lessons by severe punishments or bribed 
with prizes. From these wrong ideals and wretched 
practices of the old schools we are gradually escaping. 
But all such reforms come slowly, and whenever we find 
a teacher assigning so many pages from a book to be 
learned paragraph by paragraph and recited by the 
pupils, while the teacher keeps the book open to see that 
" they recite it right, " we may reasonably conclude that 
we have found a case of the survival of the unfit. 

Not all knowledge is power. Knowledge does not 
consist of the mere facts that one accumulates. Many 
facts are useless, trivial; a knowledge of other facts is 
positively injurious. The knowledge that is power con- 
sists of important facts bound together by logical rela- 
tions, well classified, and so thoroughly mastered that 
they can be used by us as a means of acquiring further 
knowledge, or as a means of guiding us in the discharge 
of life's daily duties and activities, or as a means of in- 
creasing our own happiness and that of others. Such 
knowledge can be acquired only through the mind's 
own self-activity. The teacher cannot transfer it nor 
impart it nor pour it into the pupil's consciousness, but 
he can, if he is a master of his art, so inspire and direct 
the pupil's thinking, feeling, and willing that growth in 
knowledge, power, and skill is the sure result of his 
instruction. 

No Conflict Between " Complete Living " and " Mo- 
rality " as Supreme Aims. — The great purpose of all 



126 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

education as tested by the general aim of complete 
living is to secure right conduct in all the relations of 
life, in the home, in the school, in the State, in busi- 
ness, in society. To secure such conduct implies: (i) 
Intelligent judgment of right and wrong; (2) an ever- 
present and ever-potent disposition to choose the right 
and reject the wrong. 

Nearly all great thinkers on education agree that 
character is the supreme aim of education. Locke puts 
the aims of education in the following order as to their 
importance: (1) Virtue; (2) wisdom; (3) manners; (4) 
learning, thus making learning, or book knowledge, the 
least important of the four. 

Pestalozzi declared that the child who had learned to 
pray, to think, and to work is already more than half 
educated, and asserted that his object was not so much 
to teach the child to know what he did not know before 
as to teach him to behave as he did not behave before. 

Froebel, in his "Education of Man," says that "the 
object of education is the realization of a faithful, pure, 
inviolate, and hence, holy life." And from Herbart we 
read that "the one and the whole work of education 
may be summed up in the concept Morality." 

Between these aims and Spencer's aim of "complete 
living" there is essential agreement, for morality is not 
an abstract thing— it must be lived. 

The Moral Mission of the School. — If these great 
thinkers are correct in their views, then the teacher 
should never forget that character is above learning, 
that good moral habits are more important than memory 
gems, that to require pupils to act justly and to practise 
righteousness is better than preaching, that it is safer 
and easier and nobler to form character than to reform 



AIMS OF THE SCHOOL 127 

it. Under a wise and good teacher all the lessons, all 
the exercises, all the government and influences of the 
school become powerful instrumentalities in the forma- 
tion of right habits in the pupils, the culture of the moral 
judgment, the quickening of the feelings and the con- 
science, the training of the will in right-doing, and the 
upbuilding of noble character. 

The Partners of the School. — Of course we do not as- 
sume that the school can do all the work of educating 
the child. There are other powerful influences that 
have a part in educating him. The material and social 
environment of the pupil outside of the school, his home, 
the street life, the Sunday-school — all these are at work 
as partners with the school in shaping the life and char- 
acter of the child. All of these together may fail to 
make of the pupil a useful member of society and a good 
man or woman. Many of the influences surrounding 
the child out of school are evil, but no honest teacher 
will make this fact an excuse for neglecting to work 
toward the highest aims of education. 

The Teacher's Opportunity and Privilege. — It should 
not be forgotten that the school is the one institution 
devised by society for the consistent, continuous, and 
conscious training of the young. The other influences 
in the child's education work incidentally and at inter- 
vals, but the school and the teacher work directly and 
continuously. The teacher and the pupils in the school 
are set apart, dedicated, as it were, to the work of teach- 
ing and learning. As Arnold Tompkins said: "The 
teacher is the one and only member of society whose 
sole business it is, by set plan and purpose, to develop 
the whole life of another." Not only so, but the child 
during the school year is with the teacher in the school, 



128 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

including intermissions and time spent on the way to 
the school or from the school to his home, more of his 
waking hours each day than he is at home. School 
work, school companions, school thoughts dominate 
his life. The teacher in the school can do for the chil- 
dren of any community many things that parents have 
not done for them in the home and some things that 
parents cannot do. He can help the pupil to know him- 
self, to get a larger vision of life, to "covet earnestly the 
best gifts," to aspire to the things that are true, honest, 
just, pure, lovely, and of good report. These are the 
ultimate aims of the school. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Dewey, "Democracy and Education," chaps. VIII, IX; 
Spencer, "Education," chap. I; Home, "The Psychological 
Principles of Education," chap. Ill; Bagley, "The Educative 
Process," chap. Ill; Search, "An Ideal School," chap. XII; 
Compayre, "Psychology Applied to Education," chap. I; 
Butler, "The Meaning of Education," chaps. Ill, V; E. C. 
Moore, "What is Education?"; Miller, "Education for the 
Needs of Life," chap. II; Mark, "Modern Views on Education." 



CHAPTER XI 
THE COURSE OF STUDY 

How Related to the Aims of the School. — In the pre- 
ceding chapter we discussed the aims of the school. In 
order that these aims may be attained the every-day 
work of the pupils must be wisely planned and carefully 
directed. Gilbert says: "To allow each teacher to 
teach what he pleases to the children would quickly 
produce disorganization alike fatal to the teacher's suc- 
cess and disastrous to the children." The aims of the 
school cannot be secured unless the materials used in 
instruction are wisely selected, carefully arranged and 
graded, and properly correlated. Subjects of study so 
selected, arranged, and correlated constitute the cur- 
riculum. Thus the course of study is the most natural 
and concrete expression of the aims of the school. It 
serves the teacher both as chart and. log-book. It 
makes possible the steady, unbroken progress of the 
pupil in his efforts to realize the aims of the school. 

Importance of the Elementary Course of Study. — Un- 
til very recently there has been no general recognition 
by the American people of the vast importance of the 
elementary course of study. Even among educators 
the problems of secondary and higher education have 
been considered the paramount ones. But ever since 
Francis Parker began his famous "experiment" at 
Quincy, the interest of both people and teachers in the 
course of study for elementary schools has constantly 
grown more pronounced and more intelligent. Every- 

129 



130 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

where our courses of study for the elementary schools are 
being modified by the weeding out of purely formal ex- 
ercises, like parsing, the spelling of long lists of unre- 
lated words, arithmetical oddities, and mechanical map 
questions in geography, and by introducing in their 
place interesting and useful knowledge of all kinds: 
art in the form of music, drawing, and painting; litera- 
ture and history in the form of stories, myths, legends, 
and biographies; science under the name of nature study, 
elements of botany, physics, zoology, geology, and physi- 
ology; and on the side of expression we have handwork, 
physical training, and all that may be included under 
the terms manual training, crafts, and domestic science. 
As a result of all these radical changes our elementary 
courses are in a chaotic condition. But we have at 
last fully realized the importance of the problem and no 
one can doubt its final successful solution. Some of 
the reasons for its importance are: (i) The elementary 
schools must provide for all classes of children regard- 
less of their possible vocations in the future; (2) it is in 
the elementary school that the pupil must build the 
foundation for successful work in the high-school and 
college, both as to knowledge acquired and habits of 
study formed; (3) the first eight years of a pupil's school 
life are almost certain to determine his attitude toward 
intellectual pursuits, for it is here that he either acquires 
a many-sided and permanent interest in knowledge for 
its own sake or forms a dislike for all study; (4) lastly, 
the great majority of pupils will never enter the high- 
school, so that the elementary school must supply them 
with all the school instruction they will ever have. 

The Aims of the Course of Study. — The great purpose 
of the course of study is to bring into unity and effective 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 131 

co-operatiom the whole school life of each pupil with the 
larger life of mankind as expressed in the great world of 
human knowledge and achievement. It is an attempt 
to correlate subject-matter with the unfolding life of the 
learner. 

This is the great problem that Pestalozzi endeavored 
to work out. With infinite zeal and patience and love 
he sought to discover the order in which the child's 
powers develop or unfold. Then he tried to reduce all 
knowledge to its simplest forms and to arrange the sub- 
ject-matter of the curriculum in its natural sequence 
so that the child might find in the course of study ma- 
terial exactly fitted to his needs at every step of his ever- 
growing and ripening powers. 

More concretely stated, the aims of the course of study 
are these: 

(i) To provide material for instruction so wisely se- 
lected and so carefully arranged as to be suited to the 
developing needs and capacities of the pupil and thus 
enable him to derive from the school the knowledge, 
power, and skill that are essential as a preparation for 
the work of life. 

(2) To secure order and continuity in school work 
and thus reduce to the minimum the loss of money, time, 
and effort caused by aimless work and the frequent 
change of teachers and superintendents. 

(3) To furnish pupils and teachers a definite stand- 
ard of progress which shall serve as a basis for the 
classification of pupils. 

(4) To unify the work of all the schools of a district 
or community and thus make effective supervision possi- 
ble. 

(5) To enlist the interest of parents and secure their 



132 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

'co-operation by making them acquainted with what 
the schools are striving to accomplish. 

Relation of the Course of Study to the Community 
and to Civilization. — From every point of view it is 
apparent that the fundamental aim of the course of 
instruction is to make the great law of co-operation more 
vital, constant, and effective in the education of the 
child. In a preceding chapter I have shown how this 
law brings into unity all the classes represented in the 
school and all the forces of the community to accom- 
plish the aims for which the school exists. We now 
see that the law of co-operation includes not only the 
State, the school officers, the taxpayers, the parents, 
the teacher, and the pupil, plus all the social, industrial, 
and moral forces of the community, but that through 
the course of study it reaches out far beyond them and 
includes all the knowledge and achievements of mankind, 
all the science, the literature, the art, the ideals of the 
race, all the forces of the civilization into which the 
child is born. 

It is no mere figure of speech to say that the child is 
the ''heir of all the ages," but it is through the school 
that he comes into possession of his heritage. In the 
dome of the Congressional Library at Washington are 
the statues of Homer and Shakespeare representing 
poetry; Michael Angelo and Beethoven standing for 
art; Herodotus and Gibbon for history; Solon and Black- 
stone for law; Newton and Joseph Henry for science; 
Plato and Bacon for philosophy; Columbus and Robert 
Fulton for commerce; Moses and Paul for religion. Thus 
in one great object-lesson we are taught that our civili- 
zation is the combined product of the genius, the toil, 
and the sacrifices of the great and good men of all coun- 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 133 

tries and all ages. And as the pupils in our public 
schools, through the course of study made vital by a 
capable, inspiring teacher, come into contact with these 
master-spirits of our race, new desires and ambitions 
are born in them, larger visions of life and duty and 
service fill their minds, and love of the good, the true, 
and the beautiful takes possession of their hearts. 
This is the heritage that every community maintaining 
a good public school freely offers to its children. 

Raymont aptly says: "A curriculum is the outward 
expression of the ideas and aspirations of a community, 
not of an individual; and the community has a right to 
lay down the broad lines which instruction shall follow 
in the schools, with due deference to the opinion of the 
professional element as to what constitutes suitable 
mental food for children." 

Making a Course of Study. — From what has been 
said, it is clear that to construct a good course of study is 
a very difficult piece of work. No educational question 
has caused more earnest and prolonged discussion. 
Sometimes this discussion has been exceedingly bitter, 
and the most one-sided and extravagant views have not 
lacked for defenders. 

There are three great problems involved in making a 
course of study: (i) The selection of studies; (2) the 
order, or sequence, of topics and studies; (3) the correla- 
tion of subjects. The matter is further complicated by 
the fact that each of these three problems must be con- 
sidered from two stand-points: (1) The objective side, 
or the nature of the subject-matter; (2) the subjective 
side, or the nature of the child. To quote Arnold Tomp- 
kins: "The subject-matter is the basis of the course; 
the growing pupil is the modifying factor. The first 



134 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

gives the lines which thread the course through from 
beginning to end; the second gives the stages of for- 
ward movement on those lines. The first is the warp, 
the second is the woof of the course. Objective exist- 
ence, or subject-matter, determines the one; the sub- 
jective order of the pupil's unfolding determines the 
other." 

I. The Selection of Material for the Elementary 
Course. — That such a selection must be made is, of 
course, apparent when we consider how vast is the field 
of human knowlege and how short is the school life of 
the average pupil. There are various theories as to 
how this selection should be made, and different stand- 
ards have been set up by which to determine the rel- 
ative value of studies in the elementary curriculum. 
Historically these standards had their origin in some 
dominant ideal, political ambition, or practical need of a 
people. Where a nation has been compelled to maintain 
itself against surrounding enemies physical courage and 
endurance have been the standards set up in education, 
as in Sparta. Where a conquering people has had to pre- 
serve its racial purity and its political supremacy in the 
midst of subject races, a caste system has been fostered 
in education, as in India. When a people has become 
inspired with an intense enthusiasm for the ideals of 
some religious teacher these ideals appear as their stand- 
ards of value in education. And under the conditions 
that prevail in America to-day, when political security 
seems assured and religious zeal has lost its intensity, 
when immense natural resources and inventive genius 
combined have ushered in a wonderful industrial and 
commercial era, there is little wonder that the vocational 
standard of education should be strongly emphasized. 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 135 

Most educational writers agree that the true standard of 
value by which to determine the relative worth of studies 
is morality — the building up of moral character — but there 
is no such general agreement in the method of applying 
this standard to the practical problem of the selection of 
studies for the curriculum. 

(i) The Theory of Formal Discipline. — The conception 
of education that ruled the schoolmen of the Middle Ages 
and that was afterward adopted by the classical school 
gave rise to what is known as the theory of formal discipline. 
Dr. De Garmo says: "The theory of formal discipline 
assumes that the mind can store up disciplinary force in 
a few subjects, like grammar and mathematics, which can 
be used with efficiency in any department of life." The 
defenders of the old classical course of study have always 
insisted that even though the knowledge gained by the 
study of Latin and Greek is of little practical value, still 
the mental discipline gained is of sufficient importance to 
justify their place in the curriculum. The Committee of 
Ten apparently adopted this theory of formal discipline 
as their standard of value in the selection of studies for 
secondary schools, for they assert that all subjects are to 
be considered equivalent in educational rank for the pur- 
pose of admission to college, and they assume that the 
materials of instruction are a matter of indifference, since 
education consists in training the mental powers. 

(2) The Theory of the Utility of Knowledge. — Herbert 
Spencer's famous plea for the study of science as the only 
form of knowledge that has intrinsic value has profoundly 
influenced our courses of study. This theory is summed 
up in the two popular phrases "practical education" and 
"preparation for complete living." Spencer declared that 
for all the practical purposes of life science is the all- 



136 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

important and needful study, and disposed of the theory 
of formal discipline in the words: "We may be sure that 
the acquirement of those classes of facts which are most 
useful for regulating conduct involves a mental exercise 
best fitted for strengthening the faculties." 
j (3) The Theory of Socializing the Individual. — This, in 
the main, is the criterion adopted by the Committee of 
Fifteen for measuring the value of the different studies in 
the elementary course. "The chief consideration to which 
all others are to be subordinated is this requirement of the 
civilization into which the child is born, as determining 
not only what he shall study in school, but what habits and 
customs he shall be taught in the family before the school 
age arrives, as well as that he shall acquire a skilled 
acquaintance with some one of a definite series of trades, 
professions, or vocations in the years that follow school; 
and, furthermore, that this question of the relation of the 
pupil to his civilization determines what political duties 
he shall assume and what religious faith or spiritual 
aspirations shall be adopted for the conduct of his life." 
Mr. W. T. Harris maintains that no philosophy of educa- 
tion is fundamental until it is based on sociology, and that 
the evolution of civilization is the key to education in all 
its phases, but he does not explain how there can be social 
progress without individual progress. 

(4) The Theory of Interest. — This theory, to quote the 
statement of Dr. Rein, is: "Only that should be subject- 
matter of instruction which is able to awaken and claim 
the interest of the pupils. Only such material should be 
chosen as must necessarily awaken a spontaneous, perma- 
nent interest in every child of normal mental endowments. 
The interest only has a real value for education when it 
arises spontaneously in the pupil, accompanies him through 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 137 

bis school life as a permanent mental activity, and still 
inspires him after his school years as a vital power that 
will always augment." The material selected must have 
a close affinity with ideas already possessed by the child, 
must not be above his power of comprehension, must 
introduce him into the national life of his own people, and 
must present large, entire, connected portions of the sub- 
jects. Such portions are called types. 

Basis of Truth in Each of These Theories. — Teachers who 
have no "ism" to defend will see that there is something 
of real value in each of these theories and will be heartily 
glad that no one of them has succeeded in gaining a 
complete mastery over the others. All of these theories 
should influence the selection of the materials for our 
elementary course of study; but no one of them should 
dominate the course as a whole. Our courses of study are 
the result of a compromise and a general averaging of all 
these standards, and it is well that they are so. They are 
all the better for it. It is true that each of these theories 
has been advocated by great educational thinkers, such as 
Rein, Harris, Spencer, and Herbart, but it is also true that 
many of their extreme statements have been uttered in the 
heat of controversy while defending their particular views 
from the criticisms of other thinkers equally great and 
sincere. Out of the clash of argument certain general 
conclusions concerning the nature of studies and their 
relative value appear to be fairly well established. 

Definition of the Term "A Study."— (i) On its objec- 
tive side a study is (a) any isolated branch of knowledge; 
(b) any special field of knowledge sufficiently organized for 
purposes of instruction; (c) a certain amount of fact 
matter to be learned and a series of exercises to be done 
as a means to an end; (d) a somewhat arbitrary division 



138 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of the field of knowledge to which a certain portion of the 
pupil's time is given; (e) a body of facts concerning some 
particular topic bound together by certain fundamental 
principles of relation. 

(2) On its subjective side a study is (a) any line of 
employment designed to furnish the person who pursues 
it with some definite store of knowledge, particular kind 
of skill, or special form of culture; (b) a mode or form of 
living individual experience; (c) a channel, or groove, 
along which the pupil's thoughts may be directed during 
a definite period for a definite end; (d) every subject 
which calls out the thoughtful, interested attention of a 
pupil when placed before him. 

The Relative Value of Studies. — The relative value of a 
study, as defined above, is (1) its power to arouse the 
interest and self-activity of the pupil and make this interest 
his permanent possession; (2) its utility, or value as knowl- 
edge, that is, "power to give the pupil an insight into 
the world and command over its resources"; (3) its rela- 
tion to other studies and its importance as a preparation 
for future investigation in other fields; (4) such adaptation 
to the previous experiences, the maturity, and the environ- 
ment of the pupil as makes it possible for him to use this 
particular knowledge as mental food; (5) its effects in 
forming right habits and developing moral character. 

Groups of Studies in the Elementary Course. — From the 
above considerations it is obvious that all the great depart- 
ments of human knowledge should be given a place in the 
elementary course. The three R's do not make an ideal 
course of study. In no other one thing is educational 
progress more apparent than in the wide-spread demand 
for the enrichment of the elementary courses. There are 
those who deplore these changes. They raise the cry of 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 139 

"fads," "theory," "new-fangled notions," and "ex- 
travagance." But no amount of eulogy of the good 
old schools, no fierce criticisms of nature study, music, 
physical culture, and domestic science in the schools, 
no cheap ridicule of kindergarten occupations, hand- 
work, and manual training, no plausible demand for 
"thoroughness in the essentials" will ever succeed in 
bringing back the old-time ideals of school work and 
courses of study. 

There are six groups of studies that should be repre- 
sented in every year of the elementary course: i. Lan- 
guage and Literature; 2. Science; 3. Mathematics; 4. 
History, Civics, and Economics; 5. Art and Organized 
Play; 6. Vocational Subjects. 

1. Language and Literature Group. — This is the first 
and most important group in every elementary course. 
It includes: (1) Reading; (2) Spelling; (3) Phonics; 
(4) Writing; (5) Language Work and Composition; (6) 
Grammar; (7) English Classics. 

The supreme importance of this group ©f studies is 
apparent for the following reasons: 

(a) These studies are valuable for their utility, their 
mental discipline, and their culture. 

(b) They afford the means of communication among 
men, and thus make possible social co-operation. 

(c) They constitute the chief means by which pupils 
acquire knowledge both in school and after they leave 
the school. 

(d) They are the keys that unlock the treasures of 
civilized society and bring the pupil into intelligent and 
sympathetic union with the great ideals and aspirations 
of the race as expressed in the world's best literature. 

2. Science Group. — In the elementary course science 



140 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

is represented by: (i) Nature Study; (2) Geography; 
(3) Physiology and Hygiene; (4) Elements of Science. 
It is the purpose of these studies to teach the pupil 
his relation to his environment. 

(a) The study of these subjects should cultivate the 
pupil's power of perception and open his eyes to see the 
wonders of the world about him. 

(b) They should reveal to the child the beauty of the 
common things in nature. 

(c) They should give him a respect for his owi body 
and a knowledge of how to care for it. 

(d) They should give him the power to picture vividly 
the places and countries that are beyond the reach of 
his senses, and teach him to realize how closely distant 
countries are bound to his own community by social, 
commercial, or political ties. 

(e) They should lay a sure foundation for the appre- 
ciative study of the natural sciences later in his course. 

3. Mathematics Group. — In this group are: (1) Num- 
bers; (2) Arithmetic; (3) Business Forms. 

The aims of this group are exceedingly practical. 

(a) A knowledge of numbers and arithmetic is abso- 
lutely necessary in every department of learning. The 
lessons and pages and paragraphs in the reader are 
numbered, as are the hours of the day, the days of the 
week and the month. The size and weight of all ob- 
jects are expressed in numbers and ratios. The value of 
every article in the school-room or out of it is measured 
in arithmetical terms. The length of rivers, the height 
of mountains, the size of farms, the distance from home 
to school and from city to city are all computed and 
expressed by means of arithmetic. 

(b) Through the study of arithmetic, the pupil re- 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 141 

duces the world to an orderly and comparatively simple 
system of objects and forces controlled by general laws. 

(c) These studies are the basis for the successful pur- 
suit of all the exact sciences and all study of higher 
mathematics. 

(d) They afford a direct and essential preparation for 
the ordinary business transactions of daily life. 

4. History and Civics Group. — This group comprises: 
(1) Oral Lessons; (2) History; (3) Civics and Economics. 

One of the fundamental defects in our ordinary ele- 
mentary courses of study is that they make no provision 
for the continuous and systematic study of history in 
the lower grades. To postpone the study of history 
until the sixth or seventh year of the course in Ameri- 
can schools is little less than criminal, for little more 
than one-half of our boys and girls ever complete the 
work of the first six grades. Oral lessons in history 
in the form of myths, folk-lore, legends, traditions, 
stories, and biographies should have a place in all ele- 
mentary courses during the first five years. 

The general aims of the history and civics group of 
studies are: 

(a) To prepare the pupil for the intelligent study of 
the text-book in United States History. 

(b) To direct the pupil's outside reading along his- 
torical and biographical lines, and save children from 
the slavery to the trashy reading so prevalent every- 
where. 

(c) To acquaint pupils with human actions, motives, 
and virtues expressed in concrete forms in the lives of 
actual men and women; to set up ideals of conduct and 
service to humanity; to trace the origin, growth, and 
progress of the State; to reveal the relation of the indi- 



142 TEE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

vidua! to society ; and to inspire the children in our schools 
with an intelligent love of our country and its institu- 
tions. 

To teach all pupils the true meaning, value, and 
duties of citizens of the Republic. 

5. Ari and Play Gran p. — Included in this group are: 
; : Vocal Music; (2) Drawing; (3) Physical Training. 

These studies are a necessary part of the education 
of every child. 

: They afford the Mily ~eans and opportunity ::r 
aesthetic culture that mcst pupils will ever have. 

(b) Vocal music offers a natural opportunity for teach- 
ing good bodily habits, correct breathing, and distinct 
articulation. It is an excellent means of teaching quick- 
ness and accuracy of sight and hearing, arousing right 
feeling, and concentrating the attention. 

(c) Drawing, painting, and handwork are easy, nat- 
ural, and graphic modes of expressing ideas. They 
impress knowledge on the mind in the most effective 
way, cultivate accurate observation, stimulate interest, 
and form the basis of clear and definite memory images. 

I Through organized play and physical training 
pupils should acquire the art of sensible recreation and 
a love of out-door life. 

6. Vocational Subjects. — The trend of present-day 
elementary education is away from the extreme bookish- 
ness of the old-time education. This trend is shown in 
the laws, recently enacted in so many States, requiring 
teachers to give instruction in vocational subjects. 
These subjects include: (1) Elementary Agriculture; 
':> Domestic Science, or Household Arts; (3) Specihc 
Vocational Train::: r 

The a im s of these vocational subjects are partly edu- 
cational and partly practical. 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 143 

(a) They should furnish pupils a natural and welcome 
relief from the monotony of continuous book study. 

(b) They ought to lessen the evils of fatigue, prevent 
eye-strain, offset the dangers of close confinement to 
seats, and encourage pupils to express and apply their 
knowledge as fast as it is acquired. 

(c) These vocational subjects should help to bridge 
the chasm between the life of the school and the life 
outside of the school. They should serve to connect the 
home with the school, the shop, and the field. 

(d) They should stimulate interest in every other 
study in the course and vitalize all the instruction* of 
the school by revealing to the pupil the worth of knowl- 
edge as a means of sustaining life, securing the comforts 
of the home, and ministering in manifold ways to the 
happiness and welfare of mankind. 

Outline of. the Six Groups of Subjects by Grades. — 
Some one or more forms of each of these six groups of 
studies must be included in every year's work of the 
elementary course. Teachers should study the outline 
of the whole course, as here given, very carefully and 
plan their work in accordance with it. 

II. The Order, or Sequence, of Topics and Studies. — 
The sequence of studies means the order in which they 
should be arranged in the curriculum. It will be readily 
granted that the studies should be arranged so as to 
aid most effectively in the education of the average 
pupil. In making the selection of the materials for the 
course, we have gone far in solving the problem of the 
sequence of topics; for most studies are taught from 
text-books in which some care has been used in the ar- 
rangement of the subject-matter. There are, however, 
two or three general principles relating to the arrange- 
ment of topics and studies that should be perfectly clear 



144 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 





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THE COURSE OF STUDY 145 

to every teacher who attempts to apply a course of study 
or wishes to use a text-book intelligently. This is espe- 
cially true, because there is a wide divergence of opinion 
among educators as to the prevailing practice of to-day 
in regard to the sequence of studies. Some writers main- 
tain that the true sequence of studies and topics already 
prevails in educational practice; that this is true of all 
classes of schools; that our text-books are arranged in 
accordance with this principle; that our courses of study, 
in the main, follow the natural order; that our teachers 
are constantly seeking for approved methods of corre- 
lating the different topics and studies in the course. 
Other writers assert that the true order of studies is 
almost completely ignored in our schools; that most 
courses of study are prepared by men who do not know 
that psychology is an accepted science; that these courses 
of study are put into practice by teachers whose instruc- 
tion is mere guesswork; that the true sequence of studies 
is violated in the arrangement of topics in most text- 
books. They assert that having ascertained long ago 
the natural order of the development of the child, we per- 
sistently turn our backs upon the course indicated by 
established facts and follow the path marked out by 
custom and tradition. 

It is no doubt true that the proper sequence of studies 
is greatly interfered with by custom and tradition, by 
the over-emphasis of electives, by changeable popular 
demands, by the use of inferior text-books, and by the 
ignorance of teachers. The judicious observance of 
two or three principles would do much to improve our 
educational practice in this regard. 

(i) The Psychological Sequence. — In the lower grades 
the sequence of topics and studies should be governed 



146 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

by psychological considerations. The order and ar- 
rangement of the studies must conform to the nature 
of the child's mind and the order of its development. 
The developing mind of the learner should determine 
not only the sequence of studies but also the method of 
teaching. 

(2) The Logical Sequence. — This is the scientific con- 
nection and relation of topics and studies to each other. 
It is the objective factor in determining the arrangement 
of the subjects in the course. This principle should 
govern the arrangement of material and the method of 
instruction in the higher grades. But the transition 
from the psychological to the logical order should be 
very gradual. The history of every branch of study and 
every science proves that the order of their develop- 
ment has been: (1) an accumulation of materials through 
experience vitally related to the needs and activities of 
daily life with little regard to their logical connection; 
(2) a period of associating and classifying this material 
by means of certain fundamental relations and prin- 
ciples; (3) the application of these principles to new- 
cases. Sciences are never made off-hand. Neither 
should they be taught in the lower grades by the deduc- 
tive method nor in strictly logical order. 

(3) The TJieory of the " Culture Epochs" — This theory, 
as stated by Herbert Spencer, is: "The education of 
the child must accord both in mode and arrangement 
with the education of mankind as considered historically; 
or, in other words, the genesis of knowledge in the indi- 
vidual must follow the same course as the genesis of 
knowledge in the race.' 5 By culture epochs we mean 
those typical periods in the history of the race which 
furnish materials best fitted for the instruction and 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 147 

training of children through the successive stages of 
their developing interests and capacities. It is claimed 
that children pass through certain epochs of moral 
and intellectual growth and that these epochs repeat in 
a general way the experience of the race. Ziller says: 
"We are to let children pass through the culture de- 
velopment of the race, only with greater speed." In 
his "Ideal School," P. W. Search says: "That the child 
repeats the history of the race is undoubtedly true in 
the normal individual." And he maintains that from 
this fact we are able to deduce the fundamentals which 
should enter into a scheme of education. "So, there- 
fore, in a fruitful education the things which are funda- 
mental must take precedence over the things which are 
purely accessory." Good health, the uplift of person- 
ality, contact with nature, love for the beautiful, lan- 
guage, construction, love for stories and myths, are 
some of these fundamentals. Details in penmanship, 
spelling, technical grammar and science, mechanical 
drawing, and second-hand information Mr. Search con- 
siders as accessories to be subordinated to the funda- 
mental things. Some serious attempts have been 
made by disciples of Herbart to apply this theory to 
the succession of subjects in the course as well as to the 
method of presenting them. Some of these efforts 
have been fantastic and none of them has been wholly 
successful. Yet there is no doubt that this theory has 
furnished several valuable hints in making a course of 
study. It has emphasized the oneness of the individual 
with the race and the tendency of the child to grow into 
the type of his race. It has emphasized the value of 
history and literature in the lower grades for their ethi- 
cal importance in shaping ideals and training character. 



14S THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

III. The Correlation of Studies.— The third great 
problem in making a curriculum is the correlation of 
subject-matter. In discussing the need of better corre- 
lation of subjects, Raymont says: " Total neglect of the 
affinities of the subjects of instruction undoubtedly in- 
creases the embarrassments caused by crowded curricula; 
it leads to artificiality and takes a false view of knowl- 
edge as a mere agglomeration of independent parts, 
and, to crown all, it leaves room for diversities of aim 
where the aim is essentially one." Several theories of 
the correlation of studies have been exploited in America. 
They are variously known as correlation, concentra- 
tion, and co-ordination. The purpose of each of these 
is to unite all the subject-matter of the course of study 
into one grand interconnected, systematic, and progres- 
sive plan of instruction. 

Concentration. — As generally understood, concentra- 
tion is the attempt to group all the studies of the course 
around one central study or subject. Various studies 
have been proposed as this central one, some choosing 
literature and history, others nature study and geogra- 
phy, and still others attempting to group all the work of 
the school around the constructive activities. Most of 
the attempts to solve the problem of correlation by this 
method are fairly open to the criticism of being arti- 
ficial, and at their best are applicable to the primary 
grades only. As Arnold Tompkins so well says: "True 
concentration is not the strained and mechanical bring- 
ing together of diverse subject-matter into the same 
recitation, but fixing the attention on all the relations 
of the given subject, and thus drawing into the move- 
ment the other subjects required for the mastery of the 
one under consideration." 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 149 

Co-ordination. — Most students of education reject the 
plan of grouping all the studies around one central study. 
Some of them have favored the plan of selecting two or 
more important studies as the main ones, or co-ordinate 
studies, and making the others subordinate to them. 
Dr. Gordy says: "We may, then, fairly assume that the 
work upon which the school formerly concentrated its 
entire attention may be as well or better done inciden- 
tally; that instead of keeping — rather trying to keep — 
the child employed with the wearisome tasks of learning 
to read, write, and 'reckon' apart from anything he has 
any interest in, we can teach him these arts quite as 
rapidly by teaching them in connection with things 
which it is important for him to learn." 

The attempts that have been made to group all the 
other studies around two or three so-called co-ordinate 
studies have not met with a very cordial reception, and 
there seems to be little immediate prospect that this 
method of unifying studies in the course will be adopted. 

Correlation. — By correlation is meant the associa- 
tion and interrelation of subjects in the act of instruc- 
tion. The purpose of Correlation is to prevent the loss 
of time and energy of the pupil by enabling him to use 
the knowledge gained in one study to help him in master- 
ing the others. That there is great need of better corre- 
lation of studies in our elementary course than now exists 
is very plain to every thoughtful observer. The great 
enrichment of our school courses in recent years has not 
been governed by any principles of relation; it has been 
a simple process of addition, but every such addition to 
the course has made the need of rational correlation 
more imperative. Our common-school course has be- 
come an example of converting a necessary educational 



150 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

agency into an instrument of torture. It has led to 
over-pressure, irritation, too much home study by little 
children, fatigue, and loss of all interest in school work. 
It has encouraged shallowness and smattering. The 
only salvation of the child under such conditions is his 
own power of natural resistance to what his teachers 
attempt to impose on him and his extreme facility in 
forgetting the mass of unrelated knowledge that he 
cannot assimilate. Correlation is not an abstract prin- 
ciple to be applied off-hand in making a course of study. 
It must become concrete and effective in the act of in- 
struction. The teacher must make it so in her daily 
work. The laws of association and apperception must 
be observed. Every opportunity for practical correla- 
tion between topics and subjects which will help the 
pupil to obtain a better grasp of the topic considered 
must be improved. Geography should help pupils to 
understand history; drawing and language should help 
in every other study. Moreover, teachers should miss 
no occasion to correlate the work of the school with the 
child's out-of-school life — his games and sports, the books 
he reads, his home experiences, his excursions and trav- 
els, his ever-developing interest in nature and in the so- 
cial and economic life of his community. This is the 
only really effective correlation. 

The Teacher and the Curriculum. — It is of vital im- 
portance to the success of the school that the teacher 
should understand the nature, aims, and value of the 
course of study and should make a wise and conscien- 
tious use of it in his daily work. Although the law gives 
to school boards the right to prescribe the course of 
study, it is, as a matter of fact, nearly always compiled 
by the principal or superintendent and is merely adopted 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 151 

by the school board. But no matter how the course of 
study has been provided, nor how perfect it may be, it 
will be of little practical value unless it is intelligently 
used. It is only a thing on paper; the teacher must 
make it effective, must put life and purpose into it, must 
master the art of applying it to the daily needs of the 
pupils, and this is a much more difficult thing to do than 
to put a course on paper. 

Some teachers calmly ignore the course of study and 
work in a blind, aimless, haphazard way, giving no 
thought whatever to the reasons why certain studies 
are selected for the course, to the proper sequence of 
topics, or to the correlation of subjects. They are the 
blind leaders of the blind. Other teachers who really 
appreciate the value of the course of study as a means of 
attaining the aims of the school apparently get lost in 
the details of organization and instruction and soon 
lose sight of the greater problems involved in the educa- 
tion of the child. The work of such teachers will in- 
variably become mechanical and without inspiration. 
Many teachers put their time and energy on the subjects 
that they like best or are most proficient in and no- 
toriously neglect other subjects equally important. 
Still other teachers are satisfied to read only that por- 
tion of the course of study that outlines their own par- 
ticular work. Now it ought to be perfectly clear that 
teachers in the fifth grade cannot teach the subjects 
and topics included in the work of that grade intelligently 
unless they know what the pupils have learned in the 
preceding grades and also keep in mind what will be 
required of these pupils in the work beyond the fifth 
grade. In other words, every teacher should be familiar 
with the course as a whole, should know the connection 



152 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and relation of its parts, understand its aims and the 
principles underlying its construction. 

The Nature of the Course of Study. — The course of 
study is not then, as some writers seem to think, an 
invention of educational philosophers to be ignored, 
neglected, revised, or used by teachers at their conve- 
nience. It is not a thing to be tinkered with by every 
budding principal or superintendent who can persuade 
a school board to adopt the product of his genius. It 
is not a waste-basket into which every crank or fanatic 
may dump his hobby or his ism. It is not even "the 
measuring-rod or scale to determine at what point in 
the elementary course a pupil's work has arrived/ ' as 
defined by the Committee of Twelve. On the contrary, 
it is the point of vital contact between the child's mind 
and the intellectual and spiritual forces that have made 
our civilization. To the learner it is the means by which 
he grows into the mental and moral type of his race, 
and thus becomes an integral part of our twentieth- 
century civilization. The child who does not in some 
way grow into unity, co-operation, and sympathy with 
the ideals and aspirations of our present civilization 
remains a barbarian or becomes a confirmed hoodlum, 
degenerate, or criminal. "Summing it all up," says 
Dr. Charles McMurry, in discussing the elementary- 
course, "it is not too much to say that the school has 
begun to bring the whole range of human life and 
activity in select typical forms under its purview. This 
comprehends broadly the whole history of mankind in 
its typical and striking manifestations, the whole run of 
nature, animate and inanimate, and its relation to man, 
and all those great institutions, occupations, and tra- 
ditional bodies of knowledge which man has accumu- 
lated in the course of the centuries." 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 153 

To the competent teacher the curriculum is the means 
by which it becomes possible to realize the aims of the 
school, to put a correct estimate upon educational values, 
and to place emphasis upon the things of greatest impor- 
tance. Such teachers are not easily made the victims 
of fads and irrational ideals, for they have the vision to 
see that wisdom is more precious than knowledge and to 
realize that the poorest investment that the State can 
make is to educate a rascal or a shirk. That the course 
of study is of vital importance in attaining the aims of 
education is my contention, and the soundness of this 
position has been evident in the discussion of the prin- 
ciples that govern the construction of the curriculum. 

How to Use the Course of Study. — It is not intended 
that the course of study shall fetter the teacher's free- 
dom and individuality. It should not propose a rigid 
system to be strictly and literally applied by the teacher. 
A course of study must be general in its provisions and 
must leave very much room for the exercise of judgment, 
tact, and common-sense on the part of the teacher. Of 
course this implies that the teacher will try to master 
the provisions of the course of study. 

After carefully studying the curriculum as a whole, 
in order to get a general view of the work of the school, 
the teacher should study each subject separately in order 
to obtain a good understanding of it from beginning to 
end. Only in this way can the sequence of topics be 
fully grasped. Then the outline of the special subject 
or year's work in which the teacher must give instruc- 
tion should be thoroughly mastered and the work for 
each term or month should be carefully planned. This 
will enable the teacher to correlate the work in the dif- 
ferent branches and assign lessons intelligently. The 
work of each year and each branch of the course has its 



154 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

general aims, but the teacher in planning and assigning 
lessons must have specific and definite aims or the pu- 
pils are all "at sea" in their study and preparation. 
Every lesson, if taught effectively, must be taught with 
reference to the lessons that have preceded it as well as 
to those that are to follow it. A proper use of the course 
of study will enable teachers to do this and will render 
the work of the school more definite and symmetrical 
and the progress of pupils more satisfactory. Every 
good teacher will make a constant use of the course of 
study in the preparation of her daily lessons. In making 
such preparation a plan-book is a great help. Magee 
says: "A plan-book offers, when well done, a method of 
preparation of the lessons, a means of giving to the 
grades and of dovetailing the subjects into one another, 
that would scarcely be accomplished as well by other 
means. Experience shows that young teachers meet 
with their chief difficulty in instruction and consequent 
difficulty in discipline from lack of systematic and pro- 
gressive outline and plan work. To such a teacher a 
daily plan-book prepared with some detail is a great 
help; such a book may be examined by the principal 
daily, or at frequent intervals, and suggestions and di- 
rections may be made therein by him. ' ' Superintendents 
and principals must insist that teachers make a wise use 
of the course of study, but they should always bear in 
mind that the curriculum is made for the teacher and 
the school and not the teacher for the curriculum. It 
ought not to be necessary to hamper competent teachers 
with a lot of weekly or daily petty restrictions and mi- 
nute directions. 

While the course of study in our public schools should 
be determined as to its essential features by the author- 



THE COURSE OF STUDY 155 

ity of the State, a great degree of freedom should be left 
to the local community and local school officers to sup- 
plement the course by adding studies of local interest 
and adapting it to meet the specific needs of the pupils. 
Ana, in like manner, while the local principal or super- 
intendent must exercise a wise general supervision of 
the practical work of administering the course, he should 
leave the details and minor adjustments to be worked 
out by the individual teachers. Only in this way can 
the course of study be both flexible and progressive and 
individual initiative be combined helpfully with central 
authority. 

A course of study should be a constant challenge to 
the teacher to study and self -improvement. It is easy 
to master the work of one grade and to repeat the round 
of instruction year after year, but the effects of such 
teaching upon the teacher are pitiful in the extreme. 
Following thus the line of least resistance, the teacher 
becomes inert, unprogressive, narrow, unstudious, and 
intellectually atrophied. The course of study should 
make students of the teachers who use it. 

Reforms Needed. — The reforms needed in regard to 
our elementary schools are (i) a better knowledge on 
the part of teachers as to what constitutes the essentials 
in education; (2) the simplification of text-books by the 
omission of non-essentials, technicalities, and conun- 
drums, and the selection of type forms embodying the 
important concepts of the subjects for continuous and 
extended study; (3) closer correlation among the vari- 
ous subjects of the course; (4) greater attention to the 
physical conditions surrounding the pupils in the school; 
(5) the introduction of constructive work and manual 
training into all the grades to be closely correlated with 



156 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the other studies in the course; (6) such a centralization 
of authority in school matters as will not leave the es- 
sentials of making and administering a course of study 
in the hands of non-experts and subject to a change of 
policy with the election of every new school board; (7) 
the elimination of petty politics in the selection of teach- 
ers and superintendents. 

Such reforms are already in progress. The process of 
true reform is that of evolution. The gradual introduc- 
tion of music, drawing, physical culture, nature study, 
agriculture, handwork, manual training, domestic sci- 
ence, and the study of literature into our elementary 
schools during the past few years and the earnest efforts 
that teachers are making to find the best means of 
properly correlating this material in their daily instruc- 
tion are evidence of this process. This work must con- 
tinue in every department of education, and awakened 
teachers must be the apostles of a more rational system 
than the past has known. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bonser, "The Elementary School Curriculum," chaps. I, IV, 
V; Wells, "A Project Curriculum," sections II, III; Sears, 
"Classroom Organization and Control," chap. XI; Dewey, 
"Democracy and Education," chaps. XIV, XV; Report of the 
Committee of Fifteen; Bobbitt, "The Curriculum," chap. VI; 
Krackowizer, "Projects in the Primary Grades"; Judd, "Intro- 
duction to the Scientific Study of Education," chap. XI; F. M. 
McMurry, "Elementary School Standards," chaps. VIII, IX, 
X, XI. 



CHAPTER XII 
PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 

Preliminary Work of the Teacher. — Every public-school 
teacher is an employee of the State. The great majority 
of teachers are educated wholly or in part at the public 
expense in rural schools, graded schools, normal schools, 
and State universities. It ought to be assumed that among 
the motives that prompt them to become teachers is the 
desire to repay society and the State for the free education 
that they have received by rendering faithful and efficient 
service in the school-room. It ought to be assumed that 
they will cheerfully meet all the legal requirements that are 
demanded of teachers by the State. It is a part of the 
preliminary work of the teacher to comply in good faith 
with these legal requirements. 

I. Meeting the Legal Requirements. — The State de- 
mands that before young men and women begin the work 
of the public-school teacher they shall attend the normal 
institute, pass the examinations for certificate, and sign 
a contract with the school board. The laws of the State 
also require of the prospective teacher a certain minimum 
age, aptness to teach, ability to govern, and a good moral 
character. It is the intent and purpose of these laws to 
bar the door of every public school-house to immature, 
incompetent, or immoral persons, if such persons should 
attempt to undertake the important work of instructing 
children in the name and under the authority of the State. 

157 



158 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(i) Duties of School Officer s.-^-lt is the duty of school 
directors and county superintendents to see that these laws 
are enforced. Applicants for certificates are required to 
present to the proper school officers such evidences of 
good moral character as may be demanded. Before any 
county superintendent or examining board issues a certifi- 
cate there should be no doubt of the applicant's moral fit- 
ness, for the character of the teacher and his influence 
over his school are of even greater importance than his 
literary qualifications. Stephens says: "The county su- 
perintendent who carelessly licenses a coarse, ignorant 
person to practise on little children is to be pitied be- 
cause his crime is so great." 

(2) Teachers Also Responsible, — But the responsibility 
does not lie wholly with the county superintendent and the 
examining boards. Any person who attempts to evade 
the laws of the State in regard to the requirements de- 
manded of teachers, who attempts to secure a certificate 
through favor, misrepresentation, or positive cheating and 
fraud is unfit to be a teacher. The manner and spirit in 
which young people meet these plain provisions of the 
law are, therefore, a good test of their real worth and 
character and have an important bearing upon their suc- 
cess as teachers. Let it be understood in the district that 
the teacher secured r/s certificate dishonestly or for the 
sake of a little higher pay tried to deceive the board as to 
the grade of the certificate he holds, and the influence for 
good of such a teacher is at an end. 

II. Securing a School. — The great majority of teachers 
begin their work in the rural schools. This is so because 
there are very many rural schools in which the average 
daily attendance is less than ten pupils, and sometimes 
only three or four. In such schools the problems of organ- 



PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 159 

ization are very simple, the discipline is comparatively 
easy, the "individual method" of instruction is followed 
simply because there are not enough pupils to organize 
classes, wages are apt to be at the lowest, the educational 
ideals of the community are usually correspondingly low, 
and, as a consequence, these schools are likely to fall 
into the hands of beginners or of incompetents. They 
are the real, although very pitiful and inadequate, 
"practice schools" of the country, and how to eliminate 
them is one of the great educational problems of the 
day. 

The larger country schools afford an excellent oppor- 
tunity to the well-qualified beginner to acquire power and 
skill in organization, management, and teaching ability. 
It is exceedingly important to make a success of one's 
first term and at the same time to realize that this success 
is not the result of having an "easy job" but is fairly 
earned by hard work, good judgment, and faithful per- 
formance of duty. It is better not to teach one's first term 
in his home district. 

Applying for a school is a business matter and should 
be done in a business-like way. No one should apply for 
a position unless he feels competent to fill it, and no one 
is ready for promotion until he more than fills the position 
he holds. Good positions are sometimes won by accident 
or favor or graft, but ignorance and fraud soon run their 
course and have their appropriate reward. In the long 
run, merit, hard work, and honesty win their way to better 
salaries and larger fields of usefulness. 

The young teacher should not place too much depend- 
ence upon letters of recommendation. The best recom- 
mendations are a simple statement of the grades one has 
actually earned in school or in examination for a certificate, 



160 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

a good face, a pleasant manner, a dignified, modest bear- 
ing, and a straightforward method. 

III. The Contract. — It is frequently the case that school 
boards are negligent about complying with the law in 
regard to the teacher's contract, but this does not excuse 
the teacher for a failure to observe the law. Surely, no 
teacher can afford to be a law-breaker. The teacher's 
contract should be signed by the president of the board 
and the teacher, and filed with the secretary before the first 
day of school. This contract should settle all such details 
as the length of the term, the time of beginning school, the 
wages of the teacher, the date of payment, the care of 
school property, the janitor work, the loss of time caused 
by legal holidays and in cases of contagious diseases. 

Teachers should realize that they are under the strictest 
business and moral obligations to carry out their part of 
the contract in every particular. Many teachers secure 
positions through the recommendations of friends, sign 
their contracts, and then because, forsooth, they are 
offered a better position or change their minds, calmly 
ignore their obligations, break their pledged word, and in 
effect say to the school board: " What are you going to do 
about it ? " Such teachers are a disgrace to the profession. 
So common has contract-breaking become among teachers 
that school boards in many places feel compelled to require 
all teachers to furnish a bond for the faithful performance 
of a solemn written promise. 

IV. A Pre-study of the Field. — We have said that the 
skilful organizer must have a good constructive imagina- 
tion, power to foresee consequences and forecast results. 
This is especially true in preparing for the first day's work. 
Having met all the legal requirements for the office of the 
teacher, secured a school, and arranged the contract, the 



PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 161 

teacher should plan carefully for the quick and effective 
organization of the school. The chances of failure are 
reduced to the minimum by such wise forethought, and 
success is almost assured. The teacher should plan what 
to do as well as how and when to do it. Some accurate 
knowledge of the school is essential to enable one to make 
such a plan. 

(i) The Public Sentiment, — The teacher should ascer- 
tain before the first day of school something of the public 
sentiment of the district. He should take an inventory of 
its educational resources and possibilities. He should 
plan to utilize the churches, the libraries, and the homes 
of the community for the improvement of the pupils and 
Hie school. He should get into close touch with the school 
officers, and if possible should visit the school and the 
neighborhood before planning for his work. Where there 
is no knowledge of each other, how can there be close 
sympathy and co-operation between parents and teacher ? 
The surest way to win a parent's heart is to show an intel- 
ligent and sympathetic interest in the welfare of his 
children. 

The teacher who has discovered by actual observation 
something of the people of the district — their nationality, 
religious views, moral standards, educational sentiment, 
home life — will be saved from many an error in the organ- 
ization and management of the school, and will win the 
good-will, sympathy, and hearty co-operation of parents^ 
where another teacher, ignorant of all these things, would 
find only indifference or open opposition. The teacher 
who cannot visit the district in person should secure all the 
information possible through the school directors, the 
county superintendent or principal, and the teachers who 
have taught in the neighborhood. 



162 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(2) Importance of Securing a Good Boarding-place. — 
The teacher who would succeed must plan to have a 
pleasant home. This is not the place in which to practise 
small economy. Teaching is hard work, and the teacher 
needs good food, a quiet place to study — a room all to 
himself — and congenial surroundings. Many teachers fail 
for no other reason than that they have no quiet resting- 
place, no opportunity to study, and are constantly irritated 
by the associations, the lack of conveniences, or the family 
bickerings in the homes where they board. 

(3) The School-house. — To plan wisely for the first 
day's work the teacher must know the arrangement of the 
school-house. To insure a successful beginning the build- 
ing should be in good condition, the out-buildings should 
be clean and free from marks, the necessary furniture in 
place, and the provisions for seating, heating, and ventila- 
tion well understood. The teacher should plan the best 
method of seating the pupils, provide for the arrangements 
in regard to wraps, think out the best order for pupils to 
follow in passing through wardrobe, halls, and stairways, 
and determine the best means of collecting and distribut- 
ing copybooks, pencils, pens, and other materials. 

(4) Materials to Work With. — Many a teacher has been 
hampered in his first day's work by the lack of crayon, 
erasers, pencils, paper, text-books, maps, and even such 
necessary articles of furniture as a chair, a broom, a pail, 
or a drinking-cup. The black-board is almost indispen- 
sable in making the first day's work a success. All appa- 
ratus should be put in good condition and should be ready 
for instant use. 

(5) School Records. — These records, if properly kept, 
are a very great aid in planning the work of organization. 
There should be a course of study and a classification 



PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 163 

register in every school. The course of study will indicate 
the branches to be taught and the number of classes to be 
organized, while the register will show the names and ages 
of the pupils, the studies each class has pursued, the text- 
books used, and a copy of the last term's programme. 

Every teacher should leave the school records in com- 
plete form and should endeavor by every means in his 
power to make it easy for his successor to organize the 
school efficiently and without loss of time. To this end he 
should leave in the classification register a full and complete 
statement of the work done during the term, the classes 
organized, the new classes necessary, the standing of 
pupils, the programme and what changes in it are advisa- 
ble, the text-books in use and where each class should 
begin work, a plan of the seating, and any other information 
or . suggestions that will be helpful to the next teacher. 
It is the duty of county superintendents and city super- 
visors to see that the classification register is properly 
kept 

(6) The Teacher's Plan. — Possessing thus the necessary 
information in regard to the public sentiment of the district, 
the school-house and its arrangements, the materials to 
work with, the school records, the text- books in use, and 
the organization of the previous term, the teacher can plan 
intelligently for his first day. He should aim to plan 
definite work for each division and class. This work 
should be as closely connected as possible with the work 
of the previous term. He should be especially careful to 
plan for interesting and spirited work in the reading 
classes; should expect to make a good use of maps, charts, 
pictures, and black-board; and should arrange for the 
definite and careful assignment of lessons. He should 
prepare the lessons for the first day with unusual care and 



164 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

should resolve that every pupil shall have plenty to do- 
He should determine what signals he will use, what opening 
exercises will be most appropriate, and what regulations 
it will be necessary to make. 

V. The First Day. — The importance of the first day in 
the term is insisted upon by all writers on school manage- 
ment Bell says: "Upon no other day of the school year 
does so much depend. The impressions made the first 
day, especially the first morning, will be lasting, and will 
have a powerful influence for good or for bad upon all 
future work." Questions of vital importance press upon 
the teacher for prompt and wise action. The pupils come, 
as a rule, full of interest and expectation and ready to fall 
in with the plans and suggestions of the teacher, but with 
keen eyes for signs of weakness, insincerity, and sham. 
There are many problems that must be solved. There are 
many questions that must be answered. They cannot 
be deferred nor evaded. There is no one of whom to ask 
advice; the teacher must depend upon his own judgment. 
If the teacher has made earnest, intelligent preparation 
along the lines already suggested in this chapter this first 
day will bring joy and strength and victory, but if no such 
preparation has been made it is sure to bring confusion, 
defeat, and mortification. The great object of the teacher 
in this first day's work is to make a favorable impression 
upon the school, to win the respect and good-will of all the 
pupils, and through them to gain the confidence of the 
parents. 

A Teacher's Confession. — A member of my class in 
school management who had been a county superintendent 
for four years was asked to write out his first day's experi- 
ence as a teacher. Here is what he wrote: 

u Having secured a teacher's certificate and employment 



PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 165 

for the spring term in a rural school, I supposed everything 
was in readiness for the first day's work. Upon reaching 
the school-house the first morning I found the children 
waiting to get into the building, I tried to greet them 
cordially, but I began to feel very nervous. As soon as 1 
unlocked the door there was a wild scramble for the choice 
of seats. 

"The room had not been cleaned, and the floor was 
literally covered with dirt. Many of the desks were 
broken and nearly all were loose and shaky. There was 
an old dirty tin water-pail and a cup without any handle, 
but no wash-basin. The curtains would not roll up. The 
black-board was very poor and there were no erasers or 
crayon. Here I was. The floor must be swept, a tem- 
porary programme must be made, and the lessons of 
the day ascertained and prepared. After selecting their 
seats the children had gone out to play, and when, at 
nine o'clock, I rang the bell, in came about twenty boys 
and girls. I made, or attempted to make, a little speech 
that I had thought out. It was very disconnected and 
did not seem to impress the children as I had thought it 
would. 

"After this speech I made some inquiries as to where 
the last reading lessons had been, and then assigned the 
morning lessons in this branch. Pretty soon the class in 
first reader was called. I asked one of the class to read, 
but ke could not pronounce the words, so I called on the 
'next' and the 'next/ and so on. Finally the lesson for 
the next recitation was assigned and the class dismissed. 
The class in second reader was called, and conducted 
about as the first class had been. The children all seemed 
to be watching every move I made, and I was very ill at 
ease. And now the pupils began to get restless. Hands 



166 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

were raised and such questions as these asked: 'Where 
shall we begin in arithmetic ? • 'What lesson in history 
shall we take ? ' 

"I need not describe further the mistakes I made that 
first day, but will only say that I struggled through the 
work in a hap-hazard way, and you may be sure I was glad 
when four o'clock came. 

"Some of my mistakes were as follows: 

" (i) I should have gone to the school-house before the 
first day and become familiar with its condition and sur- 
roundings. 

" (2) I should have asked that the room be thoroughly 
cleaned and repaired. 

" (3) I should have asked that crayon, erasers, and other 
needed materials be supplied. 

" (4) Above all, I should have secured the classification 
register and ascertained, as nearly as possible, just where 
each class and each individual pupil should commence 
work. 

" (5) A good temporary programme should have been 
made. 

" (6) I should have become familiar with the names of 
all pupils likely to attend school. 

" (7) I should have reached the school-house very early 
the first morning. 

" (8) It was a mistake to make or attempt to make any 
extended speech; a very few words would have answered 
the purpose better. 

"(9) Definite lessons should have been assigned as 
needed. 

" (10) I should have been so full of the subjects to be 
taught and of the spirit of teaching that the first day's 
impression would have been favorable." 



PLANNING THE CAMPAIGN 167 

Some Additional Suggestions. — (i) Do not attempt to 
get the names of the pupils the first thing. Any other 
time is better. 

(2) Omit the opening exercises unless you are sure that 
you can make them interesting and brief. 

(3) Begin as you intend to continue during the term. 

(4) Place the assignment of the first lessons on the black- 
board before the time for opening the school. 

(5) Ask pupils to help you in doing any necessary work, 
such as sharpening pencils, cleaning erasers, distributing 
crayon, rearranging the furniture. 

(6) Endeavor to carry out your plans just as you have 
made them. Lose no time, but assign work promptly, 
see that every pupil has something to do, and begin recita- 
tions as soon as possible. 

(7) Aim to make the first day's work a full day's work, 
allowing no puttering, dawdling, or waste of time. 

(8) Give very clear and definite directions for all move- 
ments and explain the signals to be used, and enforce all 
your signals and directions rigidly from the first 

(9) Use the intermissions to advantage in preparing 
board work for the next classes, getting material ready for 
illustrative work, planning changes in seating, or other 
necessary arrangements. 

Jean Mitchell's First Day. — In that delightful school 
story, " Jean Mitchell's School," there is a vivid description 
of her first day. To one who reads between the lines the 
story of that first day reveals the secret of making a good 
start and the qualities that make any teacher's first day a 
success. The "new teacher" was neatly dressed and 
greeted the pupils with a pleasant " Good-morning." She 
had a good face and clear eyes, alive to all that took place. 
She was perfectly self-controlled, quick to resolve, prompt 



168 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

to act, and perfectly fearless. She had a sweet voice 
and was a good reader. She could tell a story well and 
illustrate it by drawing objects on the board rapidly and 
skilfully. She was a good questioner and put such life 
and enthusiasm into her work the first day that it was 
not strange " the school went home in a maze of wonder," 
at a loss to understand the magic of it all. But the wise 
teacher knows that the secret of that first day is summed 
up in the sentence: " Meanwhile in her quiet home at 
Newton a brown-eyed girl planned by day and dreamed 
by night of her first school and how she could best make 
it a success." 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bagley, "Classroom Management," chap. XI; White, "School 
Management," pp. 94-101; Roark, "Economy in Education," 
pp. 37-44. Seeley, "A New School Management," chaps. Ill, 
IV. 



CHAPTER XIII 
BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 

Meaning. — Thus far we have discussed the larger 
problems of organization that deal with our school 
system as a whole. But each individual school must 
be organized before instruction can be carried on suc- 
cessfully, and every school is in some respects a special 
problem in its organization. This problem must be 
solved, as to its details, by the teacher in charge of the 
school, and, as we have seen, some of the local factors 
that must be considered in the solution are the public 
sentiment of the community, the number of pupils, the 
course of study, the teaching force, the building, and the 
materials to work with. 

However, no teacher should make the mistake of sup- 
posing that any school can be organized once for all or 
that the organization will maintain itself without wise 
and continuous management and supervision. School 
management is keeping the school well organized, for 
there must always be a continual process of readjust- 
ment. 

We have seen that the course of study is made up of 
many different branches, each arranged in a progressive 
order of difficulty. In like manner the school is com- 
posed of individual pupils of different ages, capabilities, 
and degrees of advancement. Now the teacher must 
adapt his instruction to the needs and advau cement of 
his pupils. If he attempts to make a wholly separate 
and distinct problem of each pupil, he will have neither 

169 



170 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

grades nor classes. But if he selects those pupils whose 
ability and advancement in one particular are so nearly 
equal that they are able to join with profit in the act of 
learning the same lesson, then he has organized a class. 
If the teacher combines several classes into a larger group 
on the basis of their ability to do about the same work 
in all the studies of the course, he has organized a grade. 
Departments, or divisions, are two or more grades con- 
sidered as a whole. 

Systems of School Organization. — In Landon's "School 
Management" four systems of school organization are 
discussed. These systems are (i) The Individual Sys- 
tem; (2) The Monitorial System; (3) The Collective 
System, including (a) the training system and (b) the 
simultaneous or class-room system; (4) Mixed Systems. 
Each one of these systems has its special advantages 
and its limitations as well. 

In America our smaller country schools are usually 
pretty fair examples of the individual plan of organiza- 
tion, which generally means no organization at all. 
With poorly prepared and inexperienced teachers, much 
of the time of pupils in any school is wasted, work is 
mechanical, lessons are poorly prepared, there is little 
preparation or planning on the part of the teacher, and 
the school is a dull, wearisome affair. 

In our larger country and city schools we have adopted 
the simultaneous or class-room system. Classification 
is based largely on age and ability; pupils are divided 
into groups, divisions, or grades; each teacher has charge 
of a separate room; all the pupils of each class or grade 
receive the same instruction at the same time, and are 
promoted to higher grades or divisions when they have 
completed a certain definite portion of the course of 
study. 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 171 

The Rural-school Problem. — No educational problem 
is attracting more earnest thought on the part of all 
who are concerned in the welfare and upbuilding of our 
nation than the problem of the rural school. There 
are many reasons why this problem is a vital one: 

(i) Because It Is Closely Related to Rural Social and 
Economic Life. — The rural-school problem, as a matter 
of fact, becomes the larger problem of how to maintain 
on our farms an intelligent, self-respecting, contented 
population, American in ideals and spirit, in love with 
country life, and conscious both of the great service 
that the farm renders to the well-being of all other classes 
and of the priceless value that the farmer, in turn, re- 
ceives from his participation in the larger life of the State 
and the nation. 

If the typical xAmerican farmer of the past, owner of 
his farm, intelligent, industrious, thrifty, proud of his 
local institutions and political independence, is to disap- 
pear, and in his place as tiller of the soil are to come 
tenants of absentee landlords, migratory and mer- 
cenary, with no pride of land ownership, no interest in 
upbuilding local institutions, no sturdy independence of 
thought, no trained leadership, we shall repeat the 
tragedy of the old civilizations in which agriculture 
became the occupation of slaves or serfs or peasants. 
One of the most potent means to prevent such a national 
tragedy is a reorganized and vitalized rural school. 

(2) Because of Its Bigness and Importance. — In spite 
of the unprecedented growth of our cities, more than 
one-half of our total population is still classified in our 
national census as "rural." In twenty-three States our 
rural population constitutes from 70 per cent to 89 per 
cent of the people. More than one-half of our teachers 
are teaching in rural schools, and 90 per cent of the pu- 



172 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

pils from farm homes will receive all their education in 
these rural schools. Poor rural schools mean a low av- 
erage of national intelligence and efficiency. 

(3) Because the Old-time District School Is No Longer 
an Efficient School. — In an age of marvellous social, in- 
dustrial, and economic progress the one-room rural school 
has been left behind. 

In the spring of 1859 a little group of farmer pioneers 
who had come from Eastern States to make new homes 
in Fayette County, Iowa, met to plan for providing 
school facilities for their children. They organized a 
rural-school corporation, elected a school board, and 
voted a school-house tax. Soon a brick school-house 
was built — by far the best building in the community — a 
teacher was hired, and for over sixty years a school has 
been maintained in this same building. For some years 
this school served the community well. It enrolled 
forty-seven pupils. In the winter the teacher was us- 
ually a mature man of ability and good scholarship. 
The school-house was the community centre, and was 
used as a church, a Sunday-school room, a lecture hall, 
a polling-place, and a meeting-place for the local Grange. 
A singing-school was maintained each winter and spell- 
ing-schools, lyceum meetings, and exhibitions were fre- 
quent. 

The pioneer days passed away. Commodious houses 
took the place of log cabins. Great barns and silos 
were erected. Towns and cities sprang up along every 
railroad. Machines drove out men. The telephone, the 
parcel post, and the automobile brought the city to 
every farm home. The school ceased to be a com- 
munity centre, the most enterprising young men left 
the district. The people most interested in education 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 173 

moved to town or sent their children to the city school. 
The pupils now are nearly all the children of tenants. 
Cheap and inexperienced teachers are employed, and 
this one-room rural school is not as efficient now as it was 
fifty years ago. It is a typical case. In the midst of 
the most astounding changes known to history — changes 
that have created a new world socially and industrially 
— the one-room district school has remained unprogres- 
sive and has lost its touch with modern life. This is 
the great educational weakness of our nation. 

(4) Because Boys and Girls on the Farm Must Have 
Equal Educational Opportunities. — From the reports of 
the U. S. Commissioner of Education we find that the 
length of the school year in the country is 144 days and 
in the city it is 182 days. The average salary of the 
rural teacher is $479; that of the city teacher is $854. 
The average cost of schooling per pupil is $24.13 in the 
country, and in the city it is $40.60. Two-fifths, or 
40 per cent, of the rural pupil's time is lost through ir- 
regular attendance. 

In one of our richest agricultural States there is a 
county in which a rural school for eighteen pupils was run 
nine months for $310. In the same county there are 
thirteen rural schools that have cost less than $500 per 
year for the past eight years and some of them have 
not graduated a single pupil from the eighth grade in 
these eight years. 

Poor teachers are a logical result of low standards for 
certificates and of low wages. Thirty-seven States per- 
mit teaching certificates to be issued to candidates with 
less than a four-year high-school education, and all the 
States issue temporary or emergency certificates. The 
great majority of these low-grade teachers are found in 



174 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the rural schools. There is absolutely no hope for better 
rural schools as long as we tolerate eighth-graders as 
teachers and refuse to pay a decent wage. 

The rural-school problem is too vital in importance, 
too complex in its nature, too hopeless in its present 
condition, to be solved by local school boards and rural 
communities. What is needed is State and national 
aid in reorganizing and revitalizing the rural school as 
an institution, a large programme, backed by enlight- 
ened legislation and directed by competent leaders. 
Boys and girls on our farms must be given educational 
advantages equal to those of city-born children. The 
effects of ignorance cannot be localized. The unedu- 
cated child in a remote country district is as great a 
menace to society as the neglected child in a city. It is 
the fundamental principle of democracy that all its 
citizens shall have equal opportunities. The right to a 
good education is the most precious opportunity that 
the children of our republic possess, for it is the open 
door to all other opportunities worth while. To de- 
prive one-half of our boys and girls of this opportunity 
is a national crime. 

Factors in the Solution of the Rural-school Problem. 
— Any adequate programme for securing equal educa- 
tional opportunities for children in our rural communi- 
ties must include: (i) Equal standards of efficiency as 
between city schools and rural schools; (2) a modern 
school plant; (3) a school year of nine months with a 
reasonably strict enforcement of compulsory attendance; 
(4) a course of study suited to the natural and economic 
environment of the rural boy and girl; (5) adequate 
salaries for rural teachers and special training of teach- 
ers for work in rural schools; (6) comfortable homes for 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 175 

teachers; (7) ample provision for rural high-schools; (8) 
efficient supervision by school officials trained for rural 
leadership; (9) State and national aid for poor and iso- 
lated districts; (10) intelligent educational extension 
service for rural people. 

Solving the Rural-school Problem Through Consoli- 
dation. — After many years of experimenting with the 
rural-school problem it has been demonstrated beyond 
question that the most satisfactory solution of the prob- 
lem is the consolidation of rural schools. While other 
methods of dealing with the betterment of rural educa- 
tion have met with temporary success in isolated cases 
and under the direction of individual teachers of special 
power and fitness for rural leadership, the results, as a 
whole, have been disappointing. In many of the States 
there has been legislation providing for a minimum salary 
for teachers, for State aid to poor districts, for improved 
sanitation in school buildings, for instruction in agri- 
culture, manual training, and home economics, for in- 
creasing the tax levy for schools, for physical training, 
and for standardizing one-room rural schools. But all 
these efforts of individual teachers and local communi- 
ties and all this school legislation have not gone to the 
root of the difficulty and have not greatly changed the 
rural-school system as a whole. 

The only vital and effective method of dealing with 
the rural-school problem as a whole is the consolidation 
of a number of these small, isolated, one-room schools 
into one large, centrally located, well-equipped, properly 
graded school, taught by competent teachers under effi- 
cient supervision. 

Originating as early as 1859 in Massachusetts, the 
consolidated school movement has had to fight its way 



176 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

to success against the ignorance and conservatism of 
those who should have been its best friends, against the 
.indifference and petty politics of legislators, and against 
the selfishness of large taxpayers. Finally, a few States 
passed laws permitting voluntary consolidation. With 
persistent effort and untiring zeal educational leaders 
took up the work of acquainting the people with the 
advantages of consolidation. Here and there progres- 
sive rural communities were persuaded to give consolida- 
tion a trial. Little by little the laws were improved, and 
at last a sufficient and rational solution of our rural 
school problem is in sight. The consolidation of rural 
schools is making rapid progress in all parts of our coun- 
try and is the most vital and important movement con- 
nected with rural progress and uplift of the present time. 
Through the revitalized rural school, made possible by 
consolidation, which shall serve as a community centre — 
a school that will bring to the children of the farmer as 
good educational advantages as those given to the chil- 
dren of the city and will provide the farmer and his wife 
with a social, intellectual, and recreational centre- 
there is no reason why farm life may not be made at- 
tractive and elevating. The worth of the farmer to 
civilization should be emphasized. All other vocations 
depend upon the farm. 

"The farmer's wealth is nobly won; 
He's partner with the soil and sun; 
He's partner with the seas and rain; 
And no man loses by his gain. 
No other class holds him in thrall, 
For the farmer, he must feed us all. 

God bless the man that sows the wheat, 
That gives us bread and fruit and meat; 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 177 

May his purse be heavy and his heart be light, 
His fields and home be free from blight; 
God bless the seed his hands let fall, 
For the farmer, he must feed us all." 

Above the entrance of the magnificent union depot in 
Washington, D. C, are the words: "The farm, best home 
of the family; main source of national wealth; foundation 
of civilized society." 

To help realize thi£ ideal is the mission of the rural 
schools. There is no reason why they may not be our 
best schools. 

Minor Programme for Rural-school Improvement. — 
While it has been estimated that with better roads and 
more rational laws governing the process of organizing 
consolidated districts, at least four-fifths of our rural 
schools can ultimately be operated under this system, 
it will require years to work out this large programme of 
rural-school improvement. In the meantime the pupils 
in our one-room rural schools must not be neglected. 
Therefore, a minor programme of rural-school better- 
ment is necessary. Such a programme must include 
better sanitary conditions, improved equipment, recrea- 
tional facilities, a richer course of study, better classifi- 
cation and grading, more competent teachers, more gen- 
erous financial support, vocational instruction, effective 
supervision, and some provision for opening the doors of 
the high-school to rural pupils completing the eighth 
grade. 

The problems of the course of study and the proper 
classification and grading in these one-room rural schools 
are hard to solve and will demand careful study on the 
part of the teacher. 



178 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 



OUTLINE OF THE COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE 
ONE-ROOM RURAL SCHOOL 



Reading 

Language 

Phonics and Spelling 

Writing 

Numbers 

Agriculture and Nature 

Study 
Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
General Lessons 



PRIMARY 

Grades 

(E and D 
Divisions) 



First Year. 
(First 
Readers) 



Second Year. 
(Second 
Readers) 



Reading 

Language 

Phonics and Spelling 

Writing 

Numbers 

Agriculture and Nature 

Study 
Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
General Lessons 



First Inter- 
mediate 

Grades 

(C Division) 



Third Year. 
(Third 
Readers) 



Fourth Year. 
(Fourth 
Readers) 



Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Physiology and Hygiene 

Agriculture and Nature 

Study 
Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
General Lessons 

Reading 

Language 

Spelling 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Geography 

Physiology and Hygiene 

Agriculture 

Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
[ General Lessons 



Health Work 
Civic Training 
Plays and Games 
Oral History 
Music 
Drawing 



Health Work 
Civic Training 
Plays and Games 
Oral History 
Music 
Drawing 



Civic Training 
Plays and Games 
Oral History 
Music 
Drawing 



Civic Training 
Plays and Games 
Oral History 
Music 
Drawing 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 179 



Second Inter- 
mediate 
Grades 

(B Division) 



Fifth Year. 
(Fourth 
Readers) 



Sixth Year. 
(Fourth 
Readers) 



Advanced 

Grades 

(A Division) 



Seventh Year 
(Fifth 
Readers or 

Classics) 



Eighth Year. 

(Fifth 
Readers or 
Classics) 



Reading 

Composition 

Spelling 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Geography 

Physiology and Hygiene 

Agriculture 

Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
General Lessons. 

Reading 

Composition 

Spelling 

Writing 

Arithmetic 

Geography 

Physiology and Hygiene 

Agriculture 

Handwork and Manual 

Arts 
General Lessons 



Civic Training 
Physical Training 
Oral History 
Music 
, Drawing 



Civic Training 
Physical Training 
History 
Music 
Drawing 



Reading or English 
Classics 

Grammar 

Arithmetic and Business Forms 

Geography 

Physiology and Hygiene 

Elements of Science 

History and Civics 

Agriculture 

Handwork and House- 
hold Arts 

General Lessons ^usic 

J Drawing 

Reading or English I Manual Arts 

Classics 

Grammar 

Arithmetic and Business Forms 

Geography 

Elements of Science 

Physiology and Hygiene 

History and Civics 

Agriculture 

Handwork and House- 
hold Arts f Physical Training 

General Lessons j Music 

| Drawing 
I Manual Arts 



f Physical Training 



180 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Suggestions for Classifying Pupils in a One-room 
Rural School. — The course of study as outlined provides 
for five divisions. Reading serves as the most convenient 
and logical basis of classification. 

The first-year pupils, or all pupils who read in the first 
reader, constitute the E division. All the pupils who 
read in the second reader should be classified in the D 
division. Third and fourth year pupils are to be classed 
in the C division, provided they are correspondingly ad- 
vanced in their other studies. The B division will 
include nearly all the pupils of the fifth and sixth years, 
or those who read in the fourth reader. But if, for any 
reasons, pupils have not completed the work of the C 
division, they should not be promoted to the B division 
simply because they are in the fourth-reader class. All 
pupils in the seventh and eighth years who are in the 
fifth-reader class and up in their other studies make up 
the A division. 

In many rural schools the organization and classifi- 
cation are exceedingly faulty. The reasons for this are 
apparent. Teachers and school directors are changed too 
frequently. Families move from one part of the coun- 
try to another, and their children lose time, bring no 
grades or records from their former teachers, and always 
want to use their old books. Some pupils are slow; 
others fast. Some are strong; others are not able to 
carry full work. Some pupils are regular in attendance; 
while others are very irregular. Many rural schools are 
taught by inexperienced teachers from town, who never 
attended a rural school. For all these reasons it may 
be that not much dependence can be placed upon the 
classification of the preceding teacher. 

In fact, the classification of the pupils in every rural 
school will need constant change and readjustment. 



BETTER RURAL-SCHOOL ORGANIZATION 181 

The "new teacher" should not attempt to settle all the 
problems of classification the first day of the term. AH 
the help possible should be obtained from the register, 
from the records left by previous teachers, from the 
county superintendent, and from the pupils themselves. 
Within a few days, after carefully considering the case 
of each pupil, his age, natural ability, and atttainments, 
a term classification should be made, placing each pupil 
where he can accomplish the best results. Worthy pu- 
pils should be promoted when they can do the work of the 
next higher class. Make such promotions an incentive 
to do good work. While it is desirable that a pupil 
should recite in the same division in all his studies, yet 
this is not essential. Some pupils are very uneven in 
their studies and must be permitted to recite in the 
class or division where they can derive the greatest 
good. But teachers should try very hard to keep all 
pupils classified as uniformly as possible. It may be 
accepted as a general principle that the more irregular 
a pupil's classification becomes, the less probability 
there is that he will ever complete his course. 

There are many serious obstacles to the proper classi- 
fication and grading of a large rural school. Some of 
these are the great number of classes that must be or- 
ganized, the irregular attendance of pupils, the diversity 
of text-books, the lack of proper records, no well-defined 
course of study, and the opposition of parents. Over- 
coming these obstacles is a problem in school manage- 
ment, and success will depend upon the energy, tact, 
patience, and good sense of the teacher. The teacher 
must somehow secure regular attendance of pupils. 
The school board must be appealed to in order to obtain 
uniform text-books. In the absence of proper records, 
the skill and training of the teacher should be such as to 



182 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

enable her to determine fairly accurately the ability and 
needs of each individual pupil and to work out the 
proper classification of the school as an original problem. 
The opposition of parents must be removed by personal 
visits and explanations that will convince them that the 
teacher is sincerely and earnestly striving for the best 
interests of the school as a whole. It ought to be clear 
to all concerned that without proper classification, effi- 
cient instruction is impossible and pupils have little in- 
centive to complete the elementary course. 

low to Reduce the Number of Classes. — Hundreds of 
rural schools contain only a few pupils. In schools with 
only five or six pupils, the teacher's problem is not how 
to reduce the number of classes, but how to increase it. 
As a rule these schools are not taught by competent, 
wide-awake, progressive teachers, and the progress of 
pupils is not at all satisfactory. 

In the large rural schools the problem of reducing the 
number of recitations and general lessons to a reason- 
able number is a very difficult and important one. How- 
ever, the solution of this problem is not impossible, if 
the teacher is reasonably competent, and will make use 
of the following suggestions: 

(i) The number of classes may be reduced by the 
use of general lessons; (2) by combining classes, grades, 
or divisions; (3) by alternating general lessons, classes, 
subjects, or even dropping out a whole year of the 
course; (4) by correlation of subjects within the same 
group or between studies in different groups; (5) by the 
monitorial plan, or student help. 

Records. — Teachers should keep a record of the ad- 
vancement of their classes in the work of the course. In 
this way officers of the school can easily determine the 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 183 

progress of the pupils, and reports may be made to par- 
ents or guardians. A statement should be prepared 
showing what years have been finished and how much 
work, by months or terms, has been done in years not 
completed. This statement, together with a programme 
of daily recitations, should be left for the benefit of the 
next teacher. Most rural schools are now provided with 
classification registers. If properly kept, these registers 
are a valuable aid to a systematic and intelligent use of 
the course of study. At the close of the term the classi- 
fication register and course of study should be returned 
to the director or secretary of the board. At the be- 
ginning of the term the new teacher should secure pos- 
session of these records before organizing the school. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Betts and Hall, "Better Rural Schools," chaps. XIV, XV, 
XVI; Kirkpatrick, "The Rural School from Within," I, XII; 
Carney, "Country Life and the Country Schools," chaps. I, 
VIII, IX; Eggleston and Bruere, "The Work of the Rural 
School," chaps. X, XI; Betts, "New Ideals in Rural Schools," 
chaps. I, IV; Foght, "The American Rural School," chaps. I, 
V, XV; Culter and Stone, "The Rural School," Part I; Cubber- 
ley, "Rural Life and Education," chaps. VIII, X. 



CHAPTER XIV 
GRADATION OF CITY AND CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS 

Education for All the Children of All the People. 

■ — To provide education for all the children of a great 
nation is a tremendous problem. There are 38,000,000 
children under fifteen years of age in the United States. 
To furnish these children with sufficient education to 
equip them for useful citizenship in our Republic is our 
greatest and most vital national problem, and it is a 
costly problem. School-houses must be maintained and 
equipped for them. Competent teachers must be pro- 
vided. But there is a limit to taxation. So Boards of 
Education everywhere are confronted with the perplex- 
ing question of school finance. As a rule the money 
raised for school purposes is not sufficient to provide 
schools that are as efficient as they should be. All com- 
munities should demand a wise and economical use of 
all school funds and a strict accounting of such money. 
Any community that tolerates the misuse or squander- 
ing of the funds raised to educate the children of the 
community is almost hopelessly corrupt. 

Grades and Classes Are Necessary in a System of 
Universal Education. — That pupils should be divided 
into grades and taught in classes are fundamental 
principles in the administration of our city and consoli- 
dated schools. Those who criticise this plan of instruc- 
tion and advocate what they please to call " individual in- 
struction" seem to forget that universal education is not 
possible under a tutor system, or individual pupil plan 

184 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 185 

of instruction, and that in any public-school system instruc- 
tion of pupils in classes is a physical as well as an economic 
necessity; for only in this way can one teacher instruct 
successfully thirty or forty children without resorting to 
some such discarded system as the monitorial plan of Bell 
and Lancaster. 

Advantages of Gradation. — Even if the gradation of pub- 
lic schools were not a physical and economic necessity, the 
plan has many strong advantages to commend it. 

(i) The school is, as we have shown in another chapter, 
a social organism. Social co-operation, not selfish indi- 
vidualism, is its basic principle. To secure the application 
of this principle, pupils must co-operate in grades and 
classes, achieving the same aims by continuous and simul- 
taneous effort. 

(2) The association of pupils in grades and classes doing 
the same work is a powerful and constant stimulus to all 
of them to do their very best work. Ambition and a 
friendly spirit of emulation are evoked, and these, in turn, 
become strong incentives to be regular and prompt in 
attendance, faithful in preparing lessons, and responsive 
in recitation, for only in this way can pupils maintain their 
place in class. 

(3) There is sympathy in numbers. Variety, different 
view-points, opposite personalities come to the surface in 
class work, and dulness, fatigue, and lack of spirit are 
banished from the recitation. Just in proportion as the 
interest of the pupils in their school-work increases will 
the necessity for harsh and frequent punishments be 
diminished. The elementary school is no place for elec- 
tives and specialization. Pupils should not be permitted 
to study only what they choose to study at the expense of 
studies which are absolutely necessary to their future 



186 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

progress in the higher grades. When pupils work togethe? 
in grades and classes, each study receives its fair and pro- 
portionate share of effort, and pupils are encouraged to 
complete the elementary course as a whole. Thus they 
are in a position to enter the secondary schools and con- 
tinue their work with efficiency and satisfaction. 

An English writer says: "In order to understand the 
advantages of classification one needs only to imagine a 
school conducted on the plan usual in the grammar schools 
and dame schools of a former generation. The master or 
mistress remained seated at a desk, and the pupils occupied 
benches ranged round the walls of the school-room. They 
wrote copies, worked sums out of books, learned gram- 
matical rules, and so forth; and they were called up indi- 
vidually to have their work examined or to receive help. 
There was no collective teaching as we know it. Under 
these circumstances the stimulus of emulation did not act 
strongly, the teacher's time was badly economized, control 
was difficult, and harsh punishments were therefore com- 
mon. Further the instruction tended to resolve itself into 
a system of memory exercises. The best that can be said 
for the plan is that the teaching, such as it was, was 
nicely suited to individual scholars, and that the ablest of 
them undoubtedly formed those habits of self-reliance 
which in our modern schools are sometimes conspicuous 
by their absence." 

Dangers of the Graded System. — Notwithstanding all the 
advantages of grading schools, there are connected with it 
certain real dangers. 

(i) There is danger that school boards will endeavor to 
curtail expenses by requiring teachers to attempt the in- 
struction of too great a number of pupils. Not uncom- 
monly sixty, or even eighty, pupils have been assigned to 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 187 

one teacher. It is, of course, perfectly obvious that no 
teacher can accomplish the best kind of work under such 
conditions. 

(2) Teachers and superintendents are very prone to base 
the classification of pupils on the power of verbal memory 
alone. So great a hold on the ordinary mind has the idea 
that the pupil's mental ability is measured solely by power 
to learn lessons from a book, that teachers often make 
absurd work of grading and promoting pupils. I have 
known girls in geometry classes to simply commit to mem- 
ory the book demonstrations and receive high grades from 
their teachers, when they could not solve the simplest 
original problems nor apply their knowledge of geometry 
in any practical way. During my first month's work as 
high-school principal in a certain city, a young lady who 
was a member of the senior class greatly annoyed me by 
her poor work in Latin. At the end of the second month 
I determined to call at her home and inform her parents 
cf her poor work and advise them to have her give up the 
thought of graduating with the class; but what I saw and 
heard in the home made me defer my request. Her 
father was a laboring man whose wife had died about six 
months before. There were six children in the family, and 
my high-school pupil was the oldest girl and was doing 
her best to fill the mother's place. The house was in good 
order, the children well cared for, and the father told me 
what a wonderful girl Nellie was, how hard she worked, 
what a great comfort she was to him, and how anxious 
she was to graduate with her class. I did not state my 
errand, but afterward I helped her with her work and 
tried to smooth the path for her as well as I could. Later 
in the year I was invited to her home, and the dinner she 
served would have done credit to a graduate of a school 



188 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of domestic science. My estimate of her ability was 
completely revised. She graduated with her class. The 
problem of grading and promoting pupils is not one that 
can be settled solely by the application of abstract princi- 
ples nor by monthly examinations. The personal equa- 
tion must always enter into the problem. 

(3) Again, there is danger that the differences between 
the individual pupils composing the class are so great that 
the rate of progress is too fast for some and too slow for 
others. The effect on both these classes of pupils is bad. 
These individual differences may not have existed at first 
They may be the result of sickness, irregular attendance, 
rapid physical growth, outside work, or dissipation. Va- 
rious devices are used to overcome these difficulties. The 
slower pupil may be required to drop a study or the faster 
pupil may be given additional work. Where the interval 
between classes is not too great, individual transfers to 
higher or lower classes may solve the problem. If the 
interval between classes is a year, the grade should be 
divided, for to promote individual pupils in such a case 
is nearly always disastrous; and, on the other hand, no 
pupil should be compelled to go back an entire year in his 
course to do over again the self-same work in the same way. 

(4) From what has been said, it will be clear that there 
is great danger that the grading of the school will become 
a rigid, mechanical system, that the individual will be 
sacrificed, that personal incentive to progress will be 
checked or destroyed, that promotions will be merely a 
matter of time rather than of merit and ability. These 
evils are all the greater when examinations are made the 
basis of promotions, when teachers use the antiquated 
method of daily marking, and when the superintendent 
issues minute instructions as to method and gives exact 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 189 

orders as to the amount of work each class is to do during 
the week or month. 

Methods of Gradation. — Now, real as are the dangers 
of the graded system, they hy no means justify the con- 
clusions that "the school grade is a fiction," that there is 
no such thing as the "average pupil," that the so-called 
"lock-step in the public school" is the sum of all villainies^ 
and that our educational salvation depends upon discard- 
ing grades, classes, and recitations and going back to 
the individual method of instruction, alias the "Pueblo 
plan." To assert that children are so different that no two 
or more can be taught in the same class is simply preposter- 
ous. Of course no two children are exactly alike, and 
neither are two trees or plants or birds. Yet trees and 
plants are like each other in the essentials, and so are 
birds and children. If this were not true there could be 
no science of botany or zoology or psychology — in fact, no 
science of anything. The laws of induction, attention, 
deduction, apperception, and association all testify to the 
fact that children are alike in the essentials of intellect as 
they are in the essentials of body. The faults of the graded 
system are mainly due to ignorant teachers and incompe- 
tent or lazy supervision. As we have shown, there is 
constant need of reclassification and readjustment in the 
classes and grades of every school. The teachers should 
see that all the members of the class in any subject are so 
nearly equal in ability that they can do the work of the 
class profitably. It is the business of the teacher and the 
superintendent to discover the pupils who do not fit the 
class or grade and to provide some remedy that shall be 
effective. The grading of the schools must be flexible, 
and several plans, or so-called systems, of securing flexi- 
bility have become quite famous. 



190 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(i) Tlie Term or Semester Plan. — In towns or smaller 
cities with eight or more teachers below the high school, 
each of the grades is divided into two or three sections. 
The sections of any particular grade should not do the 
same work at the same time. The rate of progress may- 
be different in these sections, but, as nearly as possible, the 
interval between them is kept the same, so that pupils may 
be transferred from one section to another at any time 
during the year. Where the interval between sections or 
classes is only three or four months, individual promotions 
are possible, and pupils who are weak can be put back 
without losing a whole year. It ought not to be neces- 
sary to consult the calendar to tell when to promote 
pupils. Neither is it necessary that all of the pupils in 
the same room should be doing the same work or even the 
same year's work. Arbitrary divisions of rooms into first- 
grade room, second-grade room, and so on, should be 
avoided. I have known a school to have sixty-five pupils 
in one room and only twenty in the room above, because, 
forsooth, the pupils "were not ready for promotion," and 
the superintendent had not wit enough to discern that a 
fourth-grade teacher could do third-grade work or that 
third-grade pupils might possibly study in a fourth-grade 
room. Such supervision is sheer stupidity. 

(2) Mr. Search's Ideal School. — The individual meth- 
od, or the Pueblo plan, has been advocated as a cure-all 
for the evils of our graded-school system. Starting with 
the fundamental proposition that "We must reconstruct 
our educational system," Mr. Search asserts that the 
central idea of our system of gradation has been that the 
child must fit the school and not the school must fit the 
child. He would abolish classes and grades and substitute 
individual work for class recitations. This is the extreme 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 191 

of individualism. It ignores the facts that the school is a 
social unit, that children should learn to co-operate in 
work as well as in play, that the recitation properly con- 
ducted affords the best possible stimulus to individual 
pupils, and, as Mr. Harris says, enables each pupil to add 
to his own mind the thoughts and views of all the cthef 
members of the class. Every good teacher, of course, 
should supplement class instruction with individual help, 
but to do so it is not necessary to return to the methods of 
the old-time country school. 

(3) Mr. Shearer's Elizabeth Plan. — The pupils in each 
room are divided into three or four classes, according to 
their ability to do the work in the essential branches. By 
the essential branches Mr. Shearer means such studies as 
must be pursued in consecutive order, like arithmetic and 
language. In such studies as drawing, geography, phys- 
iology, and penmanship the different groups may recite 
together. Individual pupils are transferred from one 
group to another as they may need to advance faster or 
slower, for the rate of movement in the different groups is 
not the same. Mr. Shearer claims that this plan entirely 
overcomes the evils of "lock-step," test examinations, 
yearly interval, regular promotions, " average pupil" 
theory, loss of time, and crushing out of incentive and 
Individuality, all so prominent in the usual graded system. 

(4) Mr. Kennedy's Batavia System. — This plan is a com- 
promise between class instruction and individual instruc- 
tion. It claims to so harmonize these two methods that 
the advantages of both are retained and the evils of both 
eliminated. It seeks to preserve the stimulus derived 
from class instruction and to provide for the systematic 
individual instruction of the weaker or slower members 
of the class. The time of the teacher is about equally 



192 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

divided between class instruction and individual help. 
When there are from sixty to seventy pupils in one room, 
two teachers are provided, one having charge of the class 
work, the other giving her whole time to individual teach- 
ing. The core of the plan is that there shall be definite 
school periods systematically devoted to individual teach- 
ing. Professor Smyser gives the following directions to 
his teachers to aid them in introducing the Batavia plan. 

(a) Keep the guiding aim steadily in view. 

(b) See that assignments of work for the class in the 
individual period are clear and definite. Assignments of 
work should always provide for methods of work as well 
as amount. 

(c) Use the individual period (i) to give the pupil a 
grasp of principles, not to aid him in getting his next lesson; 
(2) to bring into line pupils who have been absent; (3) to 
teach the pupils how to study the lesson; (4) to encourage 
timid pupils. 

(d) Do not hurry in attempting to help too many pupils 
in one period. 

(e) Make the plan a means of growth in power and not 
merely the adoption of a device. 

(5) Mr. T. B. Button's Modified Cambridge Plan. — In 
1 90 1 Professor Hutton introduced a two-course system of 
grading into the schools of Odebolt, Iowa. Later the 
same system was adopted at Lemars, Iowa. This method 
which is the Cambridge plan, extended so as to include 
the primary grades, is fully explained in the course of 
study of the "Lemars Public School for 1908," from which 
the following explanations are taken. Two courses of 
study are made out covering identical work and differing 
only in the length of time it takes to do any portion of the 
work. These courses are outlined so as to run parallel 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 193 

and articulate with one another at different points along 
the line. Classes may be so graded by means of two 
courses of study as to come together at different periods, 
allowing pupils at these points to be transferred from one 
course to the other without loss of any of the work whatever. 
And in addition, the intervals between classes are so cor- 
respondingly short as to permit transfers practically at any 
time. The two courses of study are a six-year and a nine- 
year course. This offers the opportunity whereby the pupil 
may complete the full course in six years; by three other 
routes in seven; by three different routes he may take it 
in eight years; and by one route in nine years. And in 
none of these cases is he required to repeat any part of 
the course. The result of the two courses working to- 
gether will be readily understood by reference to the fol- 
lowing diagrams. The nine-year course is represented by 
the grades indicated by numbers and the six-year course 
by the grades indicated by letters. 

(6) The Gary Plan. — Perhaps the most unique and 
consistent plan for getting away from the traditional 
method of rigid grades is the "Gary System." This 
plan has been in successful operation in Gary, Indiana, 
since 1908, when Mr. William Wirt was made superin- 
tendent of the Gary schools. The system provides for 
organizing all the school activities around the daily 
interests and needs of the child and the social and in- 
dustrial conditions in which he lives. Mr. Wirt formu- 
lates the principles on which he bases the "Gary Sys- 
tem" as follows: 

"(1) All children should be busy all day long at work, 
study, and play under right conditions; (2) Cities can 
finance an adequate work-study-and-play programme 
only when all the facilities of the entire community for 



194 



THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL. 



Grade 9 
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Grade 7 



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Grade 2 
Grade 1 



4th Year 
3rd Year 
2nd Year 
1st Year 



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Grade 



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KINDERGARTEN 



GENERAL PLAN OF GRADES IN ALL DK>AETM£NTS £ 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 



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196 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the work, study, and play of children are properly co- 
ordinated with the school, the co-ordinating agent, so 
that all facilities supplement one another, and all fa- 
cilities of the school plant are kept in use all the time." 

A platoon system" of grouping pupils is followed. 
Pupils are distributed in groups so that while some groups 
are engaged in class work or study other groups are out 
at play and still others are busy in shops or laboratory 
or kitchen. The school day is eight hours. 

In Bulletin No. 18 of the United States Bureau of Edu- 
cation for 1 9 14, Dean Burris claims that the Gary 
plan calls for: (1) The better use of school buildings, 
day and evening, including Saturday; (2) a better di- 
vision of time between the regular studies and the special 
activities; (3) greater flexibility in adapting studies to 
exceptional children; (4) more expert teaching through 
the extension of the departmental plan of organization; 
(5) better use of pupils' play time; (6) more efficient 
teaching of vocational subjects; (7) greater facilities for 
the promotion of the health of children; (8) pupils may 
do work in more than one grade and are promoted by 
subjects rather than by grades; (9) possibility of having 
pupils help each other; (10) closer articulation of the 
elementary work and the high-school studies; (11) a 
saving in the cost of instruction; (12) better co-ordina- 
tion of all the educational and recreational agencies of 
the community. 

The Gary plan has been introduced into quite a num- 
ber of other cities and is being closely studied by pro- 
gressive school men. 

Other Devices for Securing Flexible Grading. — (1) 
By varying the quantity of work required of different 
pupils in the same grade. The stronger pupils are as- 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 197 

signed more work in the same studies than the weaker 
ones or are permitted to carry an additional study. 

(2) By establishing an ungraded room with a strong 
teacher in charge capable of teaching all the subjects of 
the entire course of study. Pupils in any grade of the 
school who are "misfits" in their classes, whether due 
to sickness, irregularity, entering school late, rapid 
physical growth, or lack of ability are transferred to 
this room. The method of instruction is, of course, 
entirely individual. As soon as a pupil is ready to go on 
with his class or reaches a point where he can without 
loss take up his work in some other class or section, he 
is transferred from the ungraded room to a regular grade. 

(3) By permitting the advanced pupils to coach the 
members of a lower class who have fallen behind in their 
work. This is the old monitorial plan of Lancaster and 
Bell and has little to commend it. (4) By making ex- 
ceptional cases of very bright or very slow pupils. No 
attempt is made to hold such pupils to rigid grading. 
They are permitted to recite in higher or lower grades in 
special subjects, reciting these lessons to different teach- 
ers and passing from room to room, as may be neces- 
sary. In this way pupils may specialize in the grades, 
even omitting subjects for which they seem hopelessly 
inapt. 

Departmental Teaching. — Some educators, notably 
Dr. W. H. Maxwell, of New York City, advocate the 
plan of departmental teaching in the elementary grades. 
This plan of instruction is the one now used in our larger 
high-schools. In a work by V. E. Kilpatrick the ad- 
vantages of extending this plan to the work of the grades 
are declared to be (1) expert teaching, (2) improved dis- 
cipline, (3) improved physical conditions, (4) better 



198 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

equipment, (5) enriched curriculum, (6) unity and force 
in school management. It is also claimed that under 
departmental teaching the pupils' interest in school work 
would be greatly intensified; teaching would be more 
attractive; there would be more men teachers in the 
grades; the special talent of children would be developed 
better; pupils would feel a greater sense of responsibility 
in preparing their work; pupils would be developed as 
individuals and promoted on merit; favoritism and par- 
tiality would be avoided. The objections urged against 
departmental teaching are: (1) It would result in over- 
working pupils; (2) correlation of studies would be more 
difficult; (3) teachers would tend to become narrow; (4) 
school organization would be more difficult; (5) the per- 
sonal influence and responsibility of the teacher would 
be lessened; (6) discipline would be lax; (7) there would 
be little independent study by the pupils; (8) harder 
studies cannot be placed at the most favorable time for 
all pupils; (9) the family spirit of the school is weakened. 
From this summary it is obvious that it will require 
careful experiments under various conditions to settle 
the many important problems relating to departmental 
teaching. 

Intelligence Tests as a Basis of Classification and 
Promotion. — One of the most important and interesting 
present-day problems in education is the best method of 
adapting school work to the " individual differences" 
that exist among pupils of the same age, class, or grade. 
Some writers claim that these differences are so pro- 
nounced that no system of grading and classifying pu- 
pils should be tolerated, that each pupil is a separate 
and distinct problem, and that the educational progress 
of one child must not be linked up in any way with the 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 199 

progress of any group, grade, or class. Other educa- 
tional writers advocate the use of intelligence tests as a 
scientific basis for the classification and promotion of 
pupils, and the segregation into separate classes of the 
" bright" and the "dull" pupils. A brief description 
of intelligence tests seems in place here: 

(i) What Is Intelligence? — By intelligence in human 
beings we mean (a) general ability; (b) special aptitudes. 
Enough is known of the laws of heredity to warrant the 
following statements: (a) In human beings there is a 
relation between the size of the cerebrum and the intelli- 
gence of the individual; (b) feeble-mindedness runs in 
families; where both parents are feeble-minded, all their 
children are so, and if one parent is feeble-minded half 
of the children are usually mentally deficient; (c) "dull" 
children make low-grade adults mentally and, barring 
accidents or sickness, "bright" children make high- 
grade adults mentally; (d) inheritance determines na- 
tive traits, such as instincts, reflex action, impulses, 
sensation, and attention; (e) acquired traits are all 
developed out of native traits. 

As to what constitutes general intelligence there is 
pretty close accord among specialists in psychology: 
(a) responsiveness to stimuli, including curiosity, or the 
outreaching for new stimuli; (b) ability to learn and re- 
member; (c) adaptation of means to ends; (d) persistence 
in "trial and error" attempts to meet a new situation; 
(e) ability to discover relationships. 

An intelligence test, then, is a standardized method of 
measuring the native and the acquired abilities of an 
individual or a group of individuals. 

(2) Army Intelligence Tests During the Great War. — 
Group intelligence tests were first extensively used in 



200 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the American Army during the World War. The test 
used for recruits who could read and write was called 
the "Alpha Test." The results of these tests were 
very useful in selecting men for training as officers and 
in eliminating recruits with too little intelligence to 
learn the duties of a soldier. These army tests, so the 
records show, revealed the astounding fact that 47.3 per 
cent of our white soldiers between twenty-one and 
thirty-one, native and foreign born, possessed only the 
mentality of children from seven to twelve years old. 
In other words, since these soldiers fairly represent our 
entire adult male population, it would seem that every 
other grown-up man one meets is a moron. 

(3) The Binet Intelligence Tests. — The first attempts 
to standardize tests for general intelligence were made 
by Binet, a French psychologist, about the year 1900. 
Binet measured general intelligence on the scale of 
"mental age." The mental age of a perfectly normal 
child is just equal to his chronological age, and his 
"Intelligence Quotient," abbreviated to IQ, is 1, or 
100 per cent, the result of dividing his mental age by his 
chronological age. If a child ten years old has a men- 
tal age of ten, he is exactly normal; if his mental age is 
more than ten years, he is above normal; if his mental 
age is less than ten years, he is below normal. Individu- 
als are thus rated as "feeble-minded," "near feeble- 
minded," "low normal," "normal" or "average," "high 
normal," "near genius," and "genius." The IQ of an 
individual does not, as a rule, change materially as he 
grows older. 

(4) Use of Intelligence Tests and Results. — Intelli- 
gence tests, both individual and group, have been per- 
fected to such a degree that they are now in general 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 201 

use to test the mentality of all criminals and juvenile 
offenders, and are employed more and more in our schools 
to detect those pupils who are improperly graded. As 
a general result of testing tens of thousands of children, 
both in school and out of school, we find that among 
every one hundred children, selected at random, these 
"individual differences" exist: 

One is " Feeble-minded" with an IQ below 70 per cent. 
Five are "Near Feeble-minded" with an IQ of 70-80 

per cent. 
Fourteen are "Low Normal" with an IQ of 80-89 

per cent. 
Sixty are "Normal" or "Average" with an IQ of 

90-110 per cent. 
Fourteen are "High Normal" with an IQ of 110- 

119 per cent. 
Five are "Near Geniuses" with an IQ of 120-129 P er 

cent. 
One is a "Genius" with an IQ above 129 per cent. 

(5) Value of Intelligence Tests in School Work. — There 
is no question but that the use of these intelligence tests 
is of great value to teachers and superintendents in: 
(a) Discovering the causes of the lack of progress of 
individual pupils who seem unable to keep up with other 
children of their own age; (b) in revealing unusual abil- 
ity in pupils who have been classed as bad, lazy, or in- 
different; (c) in determining doubtful promotion cases; 

(d) by emphasizing the need of flexible grading, frequent 
readjustment of classes, and the organization of "special 
classes" for "low normal" or "high normal" pupils; 

(e) by saving pupils who are below normal from cruel, 



202 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

if thoughtless, injustice at the hands of teachers who 
utterly ignore the fact of the great " individual differ- 
ences" among pupils of the same grade, age, or class, 
and attempt to exact the same quantity and quality of 
work from all. 

(6) Limitations of Intelligence Tests. — Valuable as are 
intelligence tests in their application to school instruc- 
tion and organization it is perfectly clear that there are 
limits to their usefulness, and that, in the hands of non- 
experts, they may prove positively harmful. The 
Binet scale is an exceedingly delicate scientific instru- 
ment, and in the hands of a teacher or superintendent 
who has not been trained to use it properly and has little 
knowledge of psychology it gives no valuable results. 
Besides, it is by no means certain that group tests used 
in the army for adults, and by which it was proved that 
nearly one-half of our adult male population are morons, 
have been so perfectly adapted to testing children that 
the results may not be questioned. Of course it is a 
simple matter to construct a definition of intelligence 
and classify children on the basis of such a definition. 
But is intelligence in the child the same thing as in the 
adult? And is the process of ascertaining the intelli- 
gence of any particular class or group so perfect that, 
as the result of such a test in the hands of a non-expert, 
we dare put the label of " gifted" on one child and that 
of "stupid" on another, except in extreme cases? An 
illustration of the extreme difficulty of distinguishing 
normal intelligence from subnormal intelligence is the 
fact that in scores of celebrated trials for murder the 
question of the mentality of the person on trial has 
been an important factor. The greatest intelligence 
experts and alienists have examined the prisoner, and 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 203 

it is very seldom that there is any degree of maanirnity 
in the conclusions and sworn testimony of these experts. 

Finally, until our intelligence tests are made more 
perfect and teachers are thoroughly trained in their use, 
it is hard to see how they can be made the chief basis 
of the gradation and promotion of pupils. "Individual 
differences " as a basis of classification violates the fun- 
damental law of all classification, which is, that a class 
of any sort must be based upon the law of similarity, 
not the law of differences. Basing the classification of 
pupils on the principle of "individual differences/ ' 
carried to its logical conclusion, would result in grades 
of one pupil each. 

The Wiser Course. — From this whole discussion of the 
problems involved in the classification, gradation, and 
promotion of pupils, the thoughtful teacher will doubt- 
less form certain definite conclusions. 

(i) Our present system of grading is not as hopelessly 
bad as some zealous reformers would have us believe. 
In the valuable work on "Public School Administration, " 
by Button and Snedden, there is this statement: "The 
one basis of classification, however, with which the 
graded system deals is that based either on the stage of 
intellectual advancement reached as measured in the 
course of study, or what is nearly allied to that, the 
ability of the pupil to do the next work presented by the 
course. The class thus formed contains boys and girls, 
and pupils who are below the average age for this grade 
as well as those who may be above it. So long as the 
group is truly homogeneous by this standard and with 
reference to the course of study it is probable that teach- 
ing can be carried on most effectively. The teacher 
gives directions to forty or more children (pr a lesser 



204 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

number if two classes or divisions of the grade at differ- 
ent stages of advancement are formed in the same 
room), all of whom have the same kind and amount of 
knowledge and skill back of them and all of whom have 
the same need of learning the things just before them. 
The difficulties of one will be largely the difficulties of 
all. The same lesson can be assigned to all and the 
same explanations given with least waste of effort. 
Duplication of work is avoided, and month by month 
the pupils proceed abreast in their educational march." 
This is a fair and reasonable statement of what our 
graded system really is, and under ordinary conditions 
this plan ought to produce good results without seriously 
interfering with the normal development of the individual 
pupil. 

(2) Most of the evils connected with the grading and 
promotion of pupils are caused by poor teaching or in- 
competent supervision, and the adoption of any other 
method than the one in general use would not make the 
teaching any better nor render the supervision any more 
efficient. 

(3) There are many successful devices for securing 
flexibility of grading and insuring greater freedom to 
individual pupils. But teachers and superintendents 
should remember that these devices are for exceptional 
pupils only; that no rational system should be based on 
abnormal or exceptional cases; and, above all, that to 
make these devices a means of self-advertising and an 
excuse for wholesale condemnation of our public-school 
system is both foolish and unprofessional. Dr. Shaw 
says: "The newer conception of what should constitute 
a course of study must not be sacrificed or violated in 
any new scheme for the irregular promotion of pupils. 



GRADATION OF SCHOOLS 205 

It is not a difficult matter to move pupils on through 
the grades at irregular intervals, when the acquirement 
of so much book knowledge, in a formal way, is all that 
is required. The problem becomes a much more serious 
one when constant provision is made for the thought side 
of education as above the formal side." 

(4) In reform evolution is better than revolution. 
Sudden and wholesale changes in school administration 
are usually unwise and harmful. With a more rational 
course of study, better trained teachers, more expert 
supervision, and greater stability in the teacher's tenure 
of office, we may reasonably hope that the evils con- 
nected with gradation and promotion will be eliminated. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Terman, "The Measurement of Intelligence," chaps. I, VII, 
VIII; Cubberley, " School Organization and Administration/ ' 
chap. IX; Judd, "Introduction to the Scientific Study of Edu- 
cation," chaps. VII, XII, XV; Sears, "Classroom Organization 
and Control," chaps. X, XII; Bourne, "The Gary Schools," 
chap. VIII; Bagley, "Classroom Management," chap. XIV; 
Search, "The Ideal School," chaps. I, III, VII; Bennett, "School 
Efficiency," chap. XIII; Bolton, "Principles of Education," 
chap. XII; Meriam, "Child Life and the Curriculum," chaps. 
XI, XIX; Strayer and Engelhardt, "The Classroom Teacher," 
chap. VIII; Haggerty, "Intelligence Examinations," Holley, 
"Mental Tests for School Use"; Huey, "Point Scale Tests for 
Intelligence"; Woodworth, "Psychology," chap. XII. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE DAILY PROGRAMME 

I. Importance and Objects. — The making of a pro- 
gramme for any school is a difficult problem, for it in- 
volves all the fundamental principles which govern the 
construction of the course of study and the organization of 
the school. The programme represents the organized 
efforts of all the school authorities to accomplish the aims 
of the school through carefully planned, well-directed, 
continuous work. Some of the leading objects of the daily 
programme are: 

(i) It i6 a chief means of keeping the teacher in constant 
and helpful co-operation and unity with all the classes of 
the school and all the pupils of each class. It is a general 
plan of the daily work for every member of the school, 
including the teacher. 

(2) Without such a prearranged and systematic schedule 
of recitations and study periods, there would be hesitation, 
delays, great loss of time and energy, and constant tempta- 
tion to putter over work or shirk it altogether; for at the 
close of every lesson the pupils would have to stop to think 
what to do next. 

(3) A good programme is a great aid in the easy control 
of the school, for when pupils know just what their work 
is, just when each lesson is to be prepared and recited, 
there is no excuse for idleness and no time for mischief. 
It is a silent but constant monitor, calling every pupil to 

206 



THE DAILY PROGRAMME 207 

perform the duty nearest at hand. It embodies regular, 
steady, rational authority, and makes this the guiding 
principle of the school rather than the spasmodic, irregular, 
personal authority of the teacher. 

(4) Thus the programme becomes a valuable agent in 
training pupils in habits of regularity, methodical work, 
obedience to rightful authority, and a sense of personal 
responsibility. The importance of this function of the 
programme may be inferred from the following statement 
by Professor James: "There is no more miserable human 
being than one in whom nothing is habitual but indecision 
and for whom the time of rising and going to bed every day, 
and the beginning of every bit of work, are subjects of 
express volitional deliberation." 

(5) A good daily programme permits the work of the 
school to be done with the least amount of noise, friction, 
and nervous strain; it concentrates the efforts of the pupil 
upon one thing at a time; it secures the exercise of all the 
different powers of the child in due proportion, and enables 
the teacher to make specific daily preparation for every 
exercise. 

II. Factors in the Problem of Making a Programme. — 
While schools vary greatly in the number and age of the 
pupils, the studies, and the number of classes required, 
still there are certain factors in all schools that are constant 
and must, therefore, always be prominent in determining 
the programme. 

(1) The Time Element. — This includes (a) the length of 
the school year; (b) length of the school day; (c) time to 
be deducted for recesses and intermissions. In the United 
States, custom, which has almost the force of law in this 
case, has fixed the length of the school year at from eight 
to ten months of twenty days each, or one huadred and 



208 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

sixty to two hundred school days. The school day is 
usually six hours, although there is a tendency to shorten 
this somewhat in the primary grades. There are two 
recesses of fifteen minutes each and generally one hour 
lor noon intermission. This gives the teacher about five 
and one-half hours, or three hundred and thirty minutes, 
each day for actual instruction. It is of vital importance 
that this time should be used to the best advantage and 
should be properly apportioned among the various sub- 
jects included in the course of study. This leads us to the 
consideration of the second important factor. 

(2) The Subjects and Their Relative Importance. — The 
subjects are quite generally determined by the school 
authorities, so that the teacher has very little discretion as 
to what shall be taught. But since the teacher, as a rule, 
must determine how much time each subject shall have 
and what place it shall occupy, the question of the relative 
value of the various subjects is, in reality, a question to be 
solved by the teacher. In Chapter IX it was shown that 
there are six groups of studies included in the curriculum. 
Now every day's work throughout the elementary course 
should provide for exercises in all of these six groups — 
should present, as it were, a cross section of all of them. 
In determining the time each study shall receive, the 
teacher should consider: (a) Its importance as a means of 
the further acquisition of knowledge by the pupil; (b) the 
degree in which it affords mental training in some specific 
line; (c) its value as practical and permanent knowledge; 
(d) its relative difficulty as compared with other subjects. 

The following division of the time among the six groups 
of studies is suggested: Language, including reading, 
spelling, writing, language, and grammar, 40 per cent, of 
the whole time; arithmetic, 15 per cent.; science, including 



THE DAILY PROGRAMME 209 

nature study, geography, and physiology, 12 per cent.; 
history, 10 per cent.; art, including music and drawing, 
8 per cent.; motor activities, including handwork, physical 
culture, manual training, and general exercises, 15 per 
cent. Reduced to minutes, language would receive about 
130 minutes; arithmetic, 50 minutes; science, 40 minutes; 
history, 35 minutes; art, 25 minutes; motor activities, 50 
minutes. 

These estimates give the average time for the eight 
grades and are subject to some modifications. In the lower 
grades language may fairly claim the one hundred and 
thirty minutes, for it is the tool which the pupils must 
learn to use in order to master the other subjects of the 
course or use books independently. In the higher grades 
language should receive less time and history and science 
more time. Again, fifty minutes a day for arithmetic is 
altogether too much for the first two years of the course, 
and the time taken from arithmetic should be given to 
handwork and general exercises. In the same way the 
time for music and drawing, subjects that require no study 
period for preparation, should vary according to the grade. 

(3) The Succession of Studies. — Not less important than 
the time devoted to a subject is its place in the programme. 
Long before child-study specialists had demonstrated the 
principle that the capacity of children for sustained atten- 
tion varies greatly with the different periods of the day, 
observant teachers had discovered that some periods are 
very much more favorable than others. These facts con- 
cerning fatigue in children are pretty well established: 
(a) Fatigue is caused by overtaxing the brain and may 
be defined as decreased capacity for mental work, (b) 
Fatigue differs from weariness, which is simply the result 
of monotony and lack of interest and effort, (c) The signs 



210 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of fatigue are loss of the ability to give attention, de- 
crease of accuracy in all work, weakened power of per- 
ception and memory, greater errors in judgment, lack 
of self-control, lower work rate, and less responsiveness 
to all kinds of stimuli, (d) The major offsets to fatigue 
are sleep and nutrition; the minor offsets are rest, free 
play, and change of occupation and posture. The 
teacher should realize, too, that inattention of the pupil 
is sometimes "nature's safeguard against over-fatigue," 
and that it is not so much the effort required for study 
as the manner, method, and spirit of the teacher that are 
responsible for the amount of fatigue produced by school 
work. 

These facts should be carefully considered in arrang- 
ing the order of studies in the programme, for to con- 
serve the vitality and nervous energy of children is even 
more important than to economize their time. In the 
lower grades the formal studies, such as arithmetic, 
reading, writing, language, and spelling, should come at 
the more favorable periods, but two such subjects should 
not occur in immediate succession. The periods in these 
grades should be short. The Committee of Fifteen rec- 
ommends recitation periods of fifteen minutes in the 
first and second years, twenty minutes in the third and 
fourth years, twenty-five minutes in the fifth and sixth 
years, and thirty minutes in the seventh and eighth 
years. There must also be frequent change of posture, 
variety of method, and occasional rest intervals, songs, 
or games. On no account ought the out-door recess to 
be abolished for young children. Opening exercises 
should be bright and cheery and all general work care- 
fully planned. It should be well understood by the 
teacher that mere change of occupation does not con- 



THE DAILY PROGRAMME 211 

stitute an effective remedy for fatigue. The real remedy 
lies in the amount of interest evoked by the new occupa- 
tion, the different kind of attention required, and the 
different muscles that are called into action. Finally, 
it must not be overlooked that children must use up a 
vast amount of nervous energy in learning to perform 
acts and processes which grown-up people can do auto- 
matically. It is a universal law that the first movements 
in acquiring skill along any line require far more nervous 
energy and vitality than are needed later. In the school 
the pupil finds himself in a new environment, confronted 
with many new and difficult problems, and to meet the 
daily demands made upon him he must use to the utmost 
his nervous energy. Every unfavorable circumstance, 
every fit of fretfulness or bit of nervousness on the part 
of the teacher, only makes his task the harder and more 
life-destroying. 

III. Summary of Principles. — Some of the leading 
principles involved in the preceding discussion may here 
be stated. 

(i) The daily programme should provide for study 
periods as well as for recitations. Definite work should 
be provided for every class and every pupil during the 
entire day. 

(2) Each subject in the course of study must receive 
the time and attention that its relative importance de- 
mands. 

(3) The studies requiring the greatest expenditure of 
nervous force on the part of the pupil should be given 
the most favorable periods of the day. 

(4) The length of the recitation and study periods 
should be regulated by the age of the pupils and the na- 
ture of the subject. 



212 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(5) Where the number of classes would be too great, 
studies must alternate, classes be combined, or some 
capable pupil must be utilized as an assistant. 

(6) The programme must be planned and adapted to 
fit the needs of the school. 

(7) Very little home work should be demanded of the 
pupils in the elementary grades. If home work is re- 
quired in the upper grades, it should not be arithmetic 
or grammar. 

(8) Variety of occupation, intervals of relaxation, 
and periods for individual instruction of pupils should be 
provided for. 

(9) Exercises, like writing and drawing, requiring 
steady nerves, should not be placed immediately after 
an intermission. 

IV. — Programme for Rural Schools with Five Divisions. 
— The programme on pages 214 to 217 presents in a defi- 
nite and concrete way the serious difficulties confronting 
the teacher of a large rural school. It is not to be fol- 
lowed slavishly, but must be adapted in its minor details 
to the needs of each school, and such adaptation must 
be left very largely to the judgment of the teacher. 

V. Keeping to the Programme. — There are many 
strong temptations every day to violate the provisions of 
the programme. Some teachers habitually "run over the 
time." Others prolong recitations in the studies they 
like best. Still others vary the programme for every 
visitor, attempting to "show off" only the best classes. 
All these things should be avoided. Surely if the teacher 
does not keep to the programme, pupils will not do so. 
Study periods will be thrown into confusion; some 
classes must recite on short time or not at all; pupils 
never quite know what may happen and will take chances 
on preparation, and the moral effect of a programme is 



THE DAILY PROGRAMME 213 

almost wholly counteracted. As we have shown, one 
of the main objects of the programme is to regulate the 
study periods and seat work of the pupils, and this 
cannot be accomplished successfully unless the teacher 
adheres rigidly to the programme as made out. Pupils 
are not to be left to shift for themselves during the study 
periods. To permit this is fatal to good order, and the 
teacher who permits it will be in great danger of becoming 
a chronic keeper of pupils after school to make up their 
lessons. The teacher shows as much power and skill 
and aids the pupils as effectively in directing their seat 
work and study of lessons as in conducting the recitation. 

The daily programme should be in a conspicuous place 
in the school-room. It should be changed only on 
proof that revision is desirable. Pupils should be fa- 
miliar not only with the programme, but also, as far as 
possible, with the course of study. At the close of the 
term a copy of the programme should be left in the 
classification register for the benefit of the next teacher. 

VI. Reviews. — Reviews, both oral and written, are 
a necessary part of the work of every good school. It 
is a shame that so many pupils in the higher grades have 
never learned the multiplication tables thoroughly, nor 
standard weights and measures, nor the most fundamen- 
tal definitions in any subject. There are some things 
in the course that must be so mastered by means of 
drill, repetition, and review that they become second 
nature, or automatic, to the pupil. Oral review should 
form a part of almost every recitation. Written reviews 
should be given frequently in all subjects. Such re- 
views reveal to the teacher the success or failure of her 
instruction, emphasize essentials, serve as an excellent 
exercise in language, and are the best test of the pupil's 
spelling, penmanship, and grammar. These written re- 



214 



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views need not be required at regular intervals. They 
need not come in all subjects or all divisions at the same 
time. They should come in one division or one subject 
on one day, and in some other subject or division an- 
other day. They should be required on the comple- 
tion of a topic or a well-defined portion of the subject- 
matter rather than at the end of the month. Thus the 
burden of looking over papers will not be great for the 
teacher. 

VII. Rural-school Graduation Exercises. — Every 
county superintendent should provide for township or 
county graduation exercises, at which pupils who have 
completed the common-school course may receive their 
diplomas and certificates. Such exercises may be made 
a powerful means of uplift educationally to the whole 
community. An all-day programme, consisting of es- 
says, declamations, or a class play by the graduates, 
may be prepared. A good speaker may be engaged. A 
picnic dinner may be planned for. Games, athletics, 
and contests between the various schools should have a 
place. The best work of the graduates should be placed 
on exhibit. Parents, teachers, and school officers should 
encourage pupils in' every way to complete the common- 
school course, and to make the rural school course worth 
completing. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Strayer and Engelhardt, "The Classroom Teaeker," chap. X; 
Bennett, "School Efficiency," chap. XVI; Sears, "Classroom 
Organization and Control," chap. XII; Bagley, "Classroom 
Management," Chap. IV; Perry, "The Management of a City 
School," pp. 96-102; Page, "Theory and Practice of Teaching," 
pp. 269-286; White, "School Management," pp. 86-94; Thomp- 
kins, "School Management," pp. 130-133. 



CHAPTER XVI 
THE SCHO0I*-ROOM AS A FACTOR IN ORGANIZATION 

The Old-time School-house. — In 1837 Horace Mann 
stated in an official report that not one- third of the school- 
houses of Massachusetts were fit for habitation. And 
ten years later Lord Macaulay said of the common schools 
of England: "We know what such a school too often is: 
a room crusted with filth, without light, without air, 
with a heap of fuel in one corner and a brood of chickens 
in another; the only machinery of instruction a dog- 
eared spelling-book and a broken slate; the masters the 
refuse of all other callings." 

The educational palaces, fitted with every conve- 
nience for comfort and health, that adorn so many of our 
larger cities bear witness to the wonderful improvement 
of school architecture in recent years. But in our smaller 
towns and rural districts school authorities are still too 
often content with the unsightly, poorly lighted, unven- 
tilated, badly heated, filthy structures and forbidding 
surroundings of the school buildings of a generation ago. 

"The evils of unsanitary school-houses," says A. P. 
Marble, "have attracted most attention in the crowded 
school-rooms of cities, but these evils are not confined 
to densely populated places. The vigorous country 
boys and girls may for a time resist the evils of a school- 
room alternately too hot and too cold; of draughts of 
cold air in winter through cracks in the floor and poorly 
built walls; of out-houses too filthy for use and sources 
of moral defilement; of seats and desks built for cheap- 

219 



220 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ness and not for comfort, and more like racks for torture 
than like a perfect resting-place for the growing bodies 
of little boys and girls. But, however much the injury 
may be concealed, the deadly work goes on in many 
a country school. It is well known that no child can 
learn well or grow mentally when in bodily discomfort. 
Dulness, uneasiness, and consequent disorder in a school 
are often directly traceable to vitiated air." In the 
recently adopted "rules and regulations" of a certain 
city school board is this provision, under "duties of the 
janitor": "He shall scrub the floors twice each year." 
So it would seem that with all of our advancement in 
school architecture and school sanitation since the time 
of Horace Mann, there is still room for improvement, 
and teachers should be the apostles of a better hygiene. 
The School-room Should Interest the Entire Com- 
munity. — There is no other kind of public buildings in 
which all classes of the community ought to be so vitally 
interested as the school-house. The progress of educa- 
tion can be traced in school architecture. The difference 
between the old-time school and the up-to-date modern 
school is measured by the difference between the school- 
houses of a generation ago compared with our modern 
educational palaces with their study-rooms and libraries, 
their domestic-science kitchens and laboratories, their 
manual-training shops and gymnasium, their gardens and 
ample playground. Such a modern school building is a 
credit to any community, for it reveals a generous pro- 
vision for the instruction and training of boys and girls 
under the best possible conditions. For the children 
of the community the school-room is both a home and 
a work-shop, a living-room and a library. It is where 
they spend a great portion of their early years and 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 221 

of their waking hours. Its influence on their health, their 
intellect, and their morals will abide through life. It 
should be a comfortable, cheerful, attractive place. Out- 
side there should be little parks, trees, birds, flower beds, 
and ample grounds. Inside there should be sunshine, 
pure air, comfortable seats, tasteful furnishings, a good 
library, a workshop, and joyous life. 

The School-room a Silent Teacher of Morals. — This 
home of the peoples' children should be kept as neat and 
clean as any other well-ordered home. " There is scarcely 
a sounder principle in pedagogy," says the " Massachusetts 
State Report of 1895," "than that care begets care; order, 
order; cleanliness, cleanliness; and beauty, beauty* 
Things conspicuously good command the respect of chil- 
dren, invite their imitation, and in ways real, though ob- 
scure, sink into their souls and mould their being." 

The school-room should be a positive and elevating 
moral influence in the life of every pupil. Children seldom 
learn to respect themselves unless their surroundings are 
respectable. "Day by day beautiful, comfortable, and 
clean surroundings will have their ethical influence upon 
the pupil's development, until he comes in time to abhor 
anything that is not beautiful, well-ordered, and clean." 
" When pupils grow up and have homes of their own they 
must have them clean, neat, bright with pictures, and 
fringed with shade trees and flowers, for they have been 
brought up to be happy in no other environment." "The 
true test of our civilization is the kind of home we are 
content to live in, and the influence of our schools should 
help to form a disposition for these things that make 
home life happy and healthy." These extracts from 
the "Report of the Committee of Twelve" are not too 
strong. 



222 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

The Relation of School Hygiene to Good Order. — The 

law of co operation demands unity between the teacher 
and pupils. Everything that interferes with this unity 
subtracts so much from the effectiveness of teaching and of 
learning. The condition of the school-room must not 
divert the energy of the pupils from the learning process. 
Nov/ it is too much to expect children to be good and 
studious when they are in bodily discomfort. To them 
Dr. Johnson's famous saying: "Every man is a rascal 
when he is sick," applies with special emphasis. Their 
physical condition must be such that they will have no 
need or wish to think about it. If the room is too cold 
or too hot, the air impure, the light too strong or dim, the 
seats uncomfortable, the pupil's attention is diverted from 
his studies, his mind is irritated, his worst instincts come 
to the surface, and his conduct soon leads to collisions with 
the teacher. Gilbert Morrison says: "Every observing 
teacher knows the intimate relation between the vitiated 
air in the school-room and the work he wishes the pupils 
to perform. Much of the disappointment of poor lessons 
and the tendency to disorder are due directly to this cause. 
The brain unsupplied with a proper amount of pure blood 
refuses to act, and the will is powerless to arouse the flag- 
ging energies. The general feeling of discomfort, dissatis- 
faction, and unrest which always accompanies a bad state 
of the blood breeds most of the school-room squabbles, 
antagonism, misunderstanding, and dislike which are wont 
to occur between teacher and pupil. The pupil apparently 
at variance with his teacher is really at war with his own 
feelings, caused by an impure and stagnated condition of 
the blood." 

The Question of Health. — The demands which modern 
civilization makes upon the health and physical soundness 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 223 

of the Individual seem to be increasing continually. Our 
intense modern life with all its complexity, its rush and 
roar of traffic, its social unrest and keen competition, its 
tendency to congregate in cities, makes greater and greater 
demands upon all classes of our people; and if the Amer- 
ican race shall be able to bear the strain — shall be saved 
from degeneracy — the physical and nervous energy of our 
children must not be exhausted in the process of education. 
Their school work must not be done under extreme press- 
ure, causing physical stunting, mental worry, and fatigue. 
Their school life must be made happy and cheerful and 
must appeal to them as worth living now, not as simply 
preparing them to live by and by. Above all, there must 
be in the school, teachers who comprehend the physical 
limitations of mental work, teachers who have learned to 
say with Dr. Hall: "What shall it profit a child if he gain 
the whole world of knowledge and lose his health, or what 
shall he give in exchange for his health?" P. W. Search 
maintains that "the prime requisite in the education of 
the child must be health; that good health is subject to 
command; and that the school must be measured by the 
extent to which it contributes directly to this realization." 
It is true that teachers must make the best of the school- 
room conditions as they find them, but to make the best 
of these conditions constant care and oversight are abso- 
lutely necessary. The conditions requiring the teacher's 
conscientious supervision are those relating to (i) the 
care of the eyes, (2) correct postures, (3) comfortable 
temperature, (4) pure air, (5) contagious diseases, (6) 
general care and cleanliness of the room, (7) over-pressure 
of delicate or nervous children. 

(1) Care of the Eyes. — Short-sightedness, or myopia, 
with its attendant evils of headaches and general nervous 



224 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

derangements, is in danger of becoming the curse of 
modern childhood. It is the result of too steady applica- 
tion of the eyes to close objects, especially under unfavor- 
able conditions. All the investigations of this subject 
point to the conclusion that myopia is essentially a school 
disease, that both the degree of near-sightedness and the 
number of pupils so afflicted increase from grade to grade 
as pupils advance in their course; and that from twenty to 
thirty per cent, of the pupils who complete a high-schooi 
course are near-sighted. 

The causes of myopia are bad light; text-books with 
poor type, paper, or print; whatever tends to congestion 
in the head, as overheated rooms, unnatural positions of 
the body, bending over work at the seat, wet feet, and too 
long-continued study; bad ventilation; poor black-boards; 
and lack of out-door exercise. 

In regard to the light of the school-room: It should 
come chiefly from the left side of the room and through the 
upper part of the windows. The window space should be 
one-fifth of the floor space, and the top of the windows 
should reach nearly to the ceiling. The shades should be 
of some light color and semi-transparent. On account of 
the cross-lights, the space between windows is not good for 
black-boards, the walls should not be smoothly finished 
and should be tinted a light gray, pearl, brown, lavender, 
or green. Every school-room should admit the direct 
rays of the sun during some part of the day. 

But no matter how perfect the arrangements for lighting 
the school-room may be, it will require the constant watch- 
fulness of the teacher to make them effective in preventing 
injury to the eyes of children. The secretary of the Iowa 
Board of Health gives the following suggestions for the 
care of the eyesight of school-children: (a) Require pupils 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 225 

to sit erect while studying, with the book not less than 
twelve to fifteen inches from the eyes, (b) See that 
pupils have well-printed books, (c) Furnish abundant 
light from the left side of the room, (d) Regulate the 
temperature of the room very carefully, (e) Secure good 
ventilation. (J) Test children for near-sightedness, and 
see that pupils who need them are provided with glasses, 
(g) Do not require too long periods of study. 

(2) Correct Posture. — With the lengthening of our school 
year and the shortening of recesses the tendency of our 
school practice is to make man a sitting animal; but it is 
a crime against childhood to confine little folks for long 
periods to uncomfortable seats. Either the school hours 
for children in our primary grades should be shortened 
or more of their work should be done in workshop, field, 
and laboratory. Even with these much- needed reforms 
it must still be assumed that much of the child's school 
work will be done at his desk; and since his bones and 
muscles are so plastic, and there seems to be a natural 
disposition for pupils to assume uncouth and unhealthful 
positions, the greatest care is necessary on the part of the 
teacher to prevent malformations and serious bodily 
derangement. Of course no form of seat or desk can be 
devised that will wholly prevent the physical evils of re- 
maining a long time in one position. But if teachers are 
careless, or seats not well adjusted to the pupils, the 
inevitable results are round shoulders, congested brain, 
poorly developed chest, nearness of sight, curvature of the 
spine, and misshapen thigh bones. 

The desk may be too high for the pupil, thus raising 
his arm unduly in writing and bringing the book too near 
his eyes in studying; or too low, compelling him to bend 
over his work. The vertical distance of the desk top 



226 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

above the seat should be one-sixth of the child's height, 
and the width of the seat should be about one-fifth of the 
child's height. A flat- topped desk forces the pupil to lean 
forward in a stooping position in order to bring the line of 
vision perpendicular to his work. The height of the seat 
should be such that the feet may rest on the floor without 
raising the knees. The back of the seat should be curved. 
A perpendicular line from the edge of the desk to the floor 
should fall one or two inches within the edge of the seat. 
Seats in every room should vary in size or be easily ad- 
justable, and should be simple, neat, and durable. For 
reasons of health and good order, single desks are far pref- 
erable to double ones. Ail English writer says: "At 
present it is not uncommon to find schools with expensively 
equipped gymnasiums but with desks whose evil effects 
on the pupil's physical development cannot be counter- 
acted by occasional gymnastic exercises." Above all, 
teachers must resolutely and persistently drill pupils in 
habits of correct sitting, standing, holding the book when 
reading, and maintaining correct positions in writing and 
drawing. This requires on the part of the teacher strength 
of purpose, exact knowledge of the great dangers of incor- 
rect postures in producing permanent bodily injuries, 
definite remedies, and almost infinite patience. 

(3) Comfortable Temperature. — Of all methods of heat- 
ing school-rooms, the commonest and the worst in rural 
schools is the unjacketed soft-coal stove. Such a stove 
heats the room by direct radiation, provides no means of 
ventilation whatever when the draught is closed, permits 
the escape of poisonous gases into the room, burns the 
moisture out of the air, and requires constant attention to 
maintain an even temperature. The pupils farthest from 
the stove are cold, while those nearest to it suffer with the 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 227 

heat, and all are hindered in their work and injured in 
health. Teachers are made nervous and irritable by 
breathing impure air and think the pupils are stupid and 
hard to manage. No greater economy can be practised 
by school boards than to provide for the proper and ad- 
equate heating and ventilation of the school-house. 

While the teacher is not personally responsible for the 
method of heating provided by the school board, by a little 
tact and good sense unfavorable conditions can be greatly 
improved. A good ventilating stove could be secured at a 
little additional expense; thermometers could be supplied; 
and greater care could be taken to have the room comfort- 
ably warmed by nine o'clock and the temperature main- 
tained at from sixty-eight to seventy degrees during the 
day. 

(4) Pure Air. — Closely connected with the subject of 
heating is that of ventilation, and every teacher should be 
familiar with some good book on this subject Even 
where the janitor is responsible for the heating and 
ventilation of the school-room, the teacher should be thor- 
oughly acquainted with the general principles of ventila- 
tion, and should see to it that these principles are properly 
applied. 

The average pupil requires thirty cubic feet of fresh air 
each minute, or from three to four thousand cubic feet 
every hour. Air which has been breathed once has lost 
five per cent of oxygen and gained five per cent, of car- 
bonic-acid gas. Thus each pupil gives off into the room 
about six- tenths of a cubic foot of carbonic-acid gas each 
hour. Besides this, a large amount of watery vapor, and 
worn-out cells in the form of organic matter are constantly 
breathed out into the atmosphere of the school-room. 
Added to these there are almost numberless sources of 



228 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

impurities in the air of the school-room, such as dust and 
dirt from the floor, chalk-dust and coal-dust, bits of hair, 
and worn-out clothing. Then, too, it must not be forgotten 
that some of the pupils come from homes where cleanliness 
is surely not next to godliness — pupils with unwashed 
garments and bodies, disease germs, unbrushed teeth, and 
chronic colds, and from homes afflicted with tuberculosis. 
The immediate effects of breathing the air laden with these 
impurities are restlessness, lack of attention, drowsiness, 
and headache; and the remote effects are chronic ailments 
of throat and lungs, persistent headache, arid extreme 
susceptibility to colds, catarrh, and contagious diseases. 
The Board of Health of New York asserts that forty per 
cent, of all deaths are caused by breathing impure air. 
Medical authorities agree that breathing impure air is the 
prime cause of consumption and is the chief means of 
spreading infectious diseases. Obtuse, indeed, must that 
teacher be who in the face of all these well-established 
facts makes no effort to secure the very best ventilation 
possible; and to realize the vital importance of good 
ventilation is the first and most important step in securing 
it. Much may be accomplished, even where the room is 
heated by a stove, by proper management of the windows, 
by flushing the room with pure air during all intermissions, 
by thoroughly airing the room at night and in the morning, 
by insisting that pupils come to school decently clean, by 
vigorous use of broom and scrubbing brushes, by providing 
good foot-scrapers and mats, by requiring pupils to eat 
their dinner in a civilized fashion, and by the proper use of 
disinfectants. 

Landon says: "When suitable means for healthy work 
exist the teacher should look keenly to himself that they 
are most scrupulously attended to; where suitable means 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 229 

do not exist he should leave no stone unturned to get 
matters righted at the hands of the managers. To work 
continuously in a close, stuffy room is slow suicide." 

(5) Contagious Diseases. — As long as our schools are 
not subject to regular medical inspection, the teacher must 
assume considerable responsibility for the prevention of 
contagious diseases among pupils. No child should be 
permitted to attend school if he comes from a home where 
any contagious disease is known to exist, and no pupil who 
has been out of school because of having such a disease 
should be received back into the school without a physi- 
cian's certificate. The symptoms of most of the common 
contagious diseases are quite similar and are readily de- 
tected. No risks should be taken, and when pupils are 
feverish, have sore throats, and manifest any other symp- 
tom of measles, scarlet fever, or diphtheria, they should be 
cared for at once. 

(6) Care of the School-room. — Throughout this discus- 
sion the teacher's responsibility for the general care and 
cleanliness of the school-room has been emphasized. 
Others may shirk their duty, but the teacher must not make 
this an excuse for shirking his duty. His own health is 
at stake as well as that of his pupils. It may be difficult 
at first for a new teacher to gain the active co-operation 
of the parents or even of the school officers, but an earnest, 
tactful teacher can always enlist the cheerful assistance of, 
the pupils in improving the school-room and its surround- 
ings. The erasers should be kept clean, the desks free 
from dirt, the stove polished, the windows washed, the floor 
scrubbed and always free from litter, the books in order 
when not in use, all apparatus in its place, the outhouses 
in good condition and free from marks, the drinking-cup 
cleansed, and the school premises free from ashes and 



230 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

rubbish. The teacher who keeps the school-room shift- 
lessly will be justly suspected of shiftless teaching. 

(7) Over-pressure of Exceptional Pupils. — In every 
school exceptional pupils will be found. Some are unduly 
precocious; others are unduly dull. Some are delicate in 
health or growing rapidly or have been ill. Others may 
be defective in sight or hearing. All such children should 
be studied carefully by the teacher, and on no account 
should they be goaded on beyond their power and strength. 
Home study must not be required of them. Time to 
make up their work must be given to pupils who have 
been ill. Defective children must have favorable seats. 
Delicate children must not be seated in the coldest cor- 
ner, and all must be treated with consideration and ten- 
derness. 

Bookcases and Cabinet. — Every school-room should 
contain a good bookcase and a cabinet. The library 
books cannot be well taken care of without a proper book- 
case. They should be kept in this case when not in use 
and should always be arranged in an orderly way. For 
work in nature study it is necessary to have specimens of 
the shells, minerals, soils, insects, plants, woods, and 
grains of the neighborhood. Pupils should be encouraged 
to help the teacher make as complete and valuable a col- 
lection as possible. "Whoever has not in youth," says 
Spencer, " collected plants and insects knows not half the 
halo of interest which lanes and hedge-rows can assume." 
The teacher's opportunity to inspire pupils with a love 
of nature and to cultivate habits of observation is 
limited only by his knowledge and his power of judicious 
guidance. 

Other Furniture. — It seems strange that so many school- 
houses are still without the common necessary furniture of 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 231 

the home. The poorest homes have some means of telling 
the time of day, drinking utensils for each member of the 
family, window curtains, wash-dish and soap, towels, 
broom, mop, door-mats, and an extra chair or two. Yet 
it seems never to have occurred to some school officers that 
children need any of these things at school. 

Apparatus. — School apparatus includes all the appliances 
which are used for purposes of illustration in teaching. 
Such appliances in the hands of a teacher who knows how 
to use them greatly increase the effectiveness of instruction; 
they are to the teacher what tools are to the mechanic. 
Chief of these appliances is the black-board, and every 
school-room should be provided with generous black- 
board space. The material should be slate. When the 
long life of the slate board is considered, no "penny-wise" 
policy should induce any school board to invest in any so- 
called substitute for a good slate board. A few good 
charts are helpful and a dictionary is indispensable. No 
pupil should leave the school without learning to use the 
dictionary intelligently. For the teaching of geography 
there should be a set of good relief maps, a globe, a sand 
table, a cabinet for specimens, and clay for modelling. 
For arithmetic there are needed a numeral frame, a set of 
blocks, weights, and measures. For reading an abundance 
of supplementary books are necessary, including several 
complete sets of readers. Proper apparatus for games and 
gymnastics should also be provided. 

It is needless to say that school boards would be far 
more willing to buy all necessary apparatus if teachers 
possessed more skill in its use and exercised greater care 
in its preservation. When not in use, each article should 
be put in its proper place and kept away from dust and 
careless hands. 



232 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Decoration. — The school-room should be not only clean, 
comfortable, and healthful, but also beautiful. Little chil-? 
dren are instinctively attracted to a pretty toy, a bright 
flower, a graceful animal, a pleasant face, a simple melody, 
but without a careful nurture and training this instinctive 
love of beauty may be so starved and perverted that they 
will soon prefer noise to music and take delight in deformity 
and ugliness. Plato emphasized the close relation between 
the beautiful and the good, and Hegel defined beauty as 
the "sensible manifestation of the spiritual." 

School-room decorations cannot take the place of actual 
contact with nature in the form of flowers, birds, rocks, and 
streams out under the open sky, but they may be made a 
potent indirect means of teaching a love of beauty by 
revealing the wonders of all these things. They may 
induce and encourage moods of mind that enrich the life 
by lifting up the soul to higher and purer ideals. 

Not all teachers are artists, and besides, it requires good 
sense as well as good taste to manage school-room decora- 
tions wisely. Bare walls are better than bad pictures. 
The only proper way to begin with some school-rooms is 
to clear out and burn the so-called decorations, yellow with 
age, cheap, dirty, and unhealthful, such as tissue-paper 
flowers, cheap chromos, and ancient wreaths of ever- 
greens. To talk of decorating a dirty school-room is a 
contradiction of terms and a lesson in bad morals. It costs 
very little to kalsomine the walls and ceiling a pleasing tint, 
to paint the wood-work, to put the black-board in good 
condition, to procure curtains for the windows. A piece 
of pink or green cheese-cloth may be fastened smoothly to 
the wall to serve as a place to display specimens of work 
done by the pupils. Such specimens should be changed 
every few days and not left to gather dust and breed 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 233 

disease. If possible, a few good pictures should be hung 
on the walls, reproductions of the works of some master, 
that can be understood and appreciated by children, chaste, 
simple, and distinct. Let the pictures of the school-room 
suggest the noblest types of animal life, lessons of brave 
deeds, splendid achievements, great cathedrals, child life, 
and mother love. There should be room for a large flower- 
ing plant, a flower-box in one of the windows, and a box 
where children may watch the germination and growth of 
seeds. Teachers everywhere should read and ponder 
these words from Supt. L. B. Evans, of Georgia: "The 
silent influence of clean surroundings, of cheerful teachings, 
of classical pictures and music and literature, the presence 
of flowers and their care, the planting of shade trees and 
studies of their growth, will be a supervision so constant 
and so searching that no child can escape it. Under its 
potent warmth, like the steady, quiet shining of the sun, 
the child-plant grows into all the marvellous possibility of 
flower and fruit." 

The School Library. — The real value of teaching a child 
to read is measured by the kind of books he learns to love. 
Now an ordinary text-book is not a book to be loved; it 
is a skeleton, a mere epitome of some subject. It is full 
of general definitions and abstract principles. The study 
of the text-book on any subject should be supplemented by 
the systematic reading of good books on the same subject. 
These books should be in the school library. They should 
connect the lessons learned from the text-book with good 
general reading and literature. Geography and history 
are taught to little purpose in the school if they fail to 
create in the pupil the desire to know more of the people 
and products of other lands and other sections of his own 
land. Well-selected books of travel, biography, fiction, 



234 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

and poetry should all be made the means of extending the 
lessons taught from the text-books. The report of the 
Committee of Fifteen says: "The works of literary art in 
the readers, re-enforced as they ought to be by supple- 
mentary reading at home of the whole works from which 
the selections for the school readers are made, will educate 
the child in the use of a higher and better English style. 
Technical grammar never can do this. Only familiarity 
with fine English works will insure one a good and correct 
style." 

Moreover, the deepest moral lessons may be taught 
through the medium of some beautiful poem, like Long- 
fellow's "Legend Beautiful" or Bryant's "Sella" and the 
"Little People of the Snow." Read such a poem to the 
children, help them to picture its scenes very vividly and 
catch its spirit and meaning. None but good books should 
be tolerated in a school library, and every teacher should 
know what constitutes a good book for children. 

The books of the library should be a part of the daily 
life of the school. Passively handing out books to children 
does little good. Daily reference to them should be made 
in assigning lessons, and pupils should be taught how to 
read a book intelligently and required to make reports, 
oral or written, on what they have read. 

In the hands of a cultured teacher the school library may 
serve as a link to bind together the home and the school, 
and to arouse the interest of parents in what their children 
are reading. There is no better intellectual and moral 
home influence than that which comes from reading a good 
book aloud in the family circle. Morgan says: "Teachers 
can suggest to pupils valuable books suitable for their age, 
attainments, tastes, and necessities. Many a boy has 
been ruined by the dime novel who might have been saved 



THE SCHOOL-ROOM IN ORGANIZATION 235 

by reading books of real adventure and true heroism 
suggested to him by some thoughtful, faithful teacher. 
Seldom does a day pass when the vigilant teacher has not 
an opportunity, either in class or in private conversation, 
to drop into the prepared soil of some pupil's mind a 
hint of some valuable book to read." 

"What teacher of yours helped you most?" I once 
asked a successful lawyer, noted for his high ideals and 

true manliness. His reply was: "It was a Miss R . 

One night she called me to her desk and gave me a book 
to read. I read it, and it made me a man. It was 
'Plutarch's Lives.'" 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Thorndike, "The Principles of Teaching, " chap. II; Dewey, 
"The School and Society"; Bagley, "The Educative Process," 
chap. XXVIII; Judd, "Introduction to the Scientific Study of 
Education," chaps. VI, XVII; Tompkins, "School Manage- 
ment," pp. 72-84; Wray, Jean Mitchell's School," pp. 32-38 and 
1 49-1 51; Morrison, "Ventilation." 



PART III 
THE TEACHER AS INSTRUCTOR 

CHAPTER XVII 

METHODS OF ^TESTING AND MEASURING 
SCHOOL WORK 

I. Wrong Conceptions of School Work. — The work of 
the school revolves around two processes; (i) Instruc- 
tion; (2) training. It is of the utmost importance that 
teachers should have right views of their work as in- 
structors and trainers, — its nature, its possibilities, its 
limitations, and the best methods of testing and measur- 
ing its results. Some of the prevalent misconceptions 
of school work are: 

(1) That " Hearing Recitations" Is School Work. — 
The teacher's work is often spoken of as "hearing reci- 
tations." And the pupil's work is thought to be simply 
learning lessons just to recite them. This is a sorry 
conception of school work. Study and recitation are, it 
is true, important parts of the work of the school. But 
if such work is devoid of interest and aim it becomes a 
mechanical grind, a method of killing time, and does not 
take hold of the pupil's inner life in such a way as to 
build up character. Hearing lessons recited is not 
teaching, nor does any pupil secure ideas by merely 
memorizing words. And since memorizing words is not 
acquiring knowledge, it is plain that reciting to the 

236 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 237 

teacher words so memorized is not a knowledge-getting 
process and is not school work in the true sense. 

(2) That " Keeping Order" Is School Work.— Keep- 
ing order is one of the teacher's duties, but this cannot 
be the essential thing in school work, for it would not 
differentiate the teacher's work from that of a police- 
man. No surer way of defeating all the higher aims of 
the school can be devised than to set up order as an end 
in itself regardless of how it is obtained. The dangers 
of employing immature and untrained teachers to gov- 
ern children are far greater morally than intellectually. 
Channing said: "A child compelled for six hours each 
day to see the countenance and hear the voice of an un- 
feeling, petulant, passionate, unjust teacher is placed in 
a school of vice." This is strong language, but the 
statement is perfectly true, for there is no better place 
to develop impudence, disobedience, deceit, sullenness, 
shrewd malice, and a vindictive spirit than is such a 
school. 

(3) That "Puttering" Over Non-essentials Is School 
Work. — From the very first, pupils should have definite 
work with a definite aim, and should be encouraged to 
do this work in the shortest possible time. Idling and 
dawdling over school work should not be permitted. 
Better a great deal to shorten the school day in primary 
grades, or let the little ones go out-of-doors to play, or 
take a nap in the school-room than to have them do 
over and over so-called "busy work" which they have 
outgrown and of which they are heartily tired. Shrewd 
old John Locke called the state of mind produced by such 
monotonous work "sauntering." Sauntering is the op- 
posite of childish eagerness and curiosity. It is a list- 
less carelessness, a want of regard to anything, and a 



238 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

trifling over all work. Locke says: "I look on this 
sauntering as one of the worst qualities that can appear 
in a child, as well as one of the hardest to be cured where 
it is natural/' The pupil who loses his eager, question- 
ing spirit, his God-given curiosity, without acquiring 
other strong motives to mental effort is a nearly hopeless 
case. One of the best results which can come from work 
in the primary grades is to develop the child's natural 
curiosity into a genuine love of knowledge. Every one 
knows how eager children are to learn before they enter 
school — how interested in all that goes on around them, 
how full of questions, what keen observers, what ready 
talkers; and when one sees these same children trans- 
formed in a few years of school life into listless, unob- 
serving, tongue-tied boys and girls, without curiosity, 
ambition, or interest, he cannot escape the conclusion 
that such a change must be caused by poor teaching. 
(4) That Merely " Doing Things" Under the Spur of 
Interest Is School Work. — The school should not be an 
educational vaudeville. There is a delightful theory 
that school work may be so interesting and pleasant 
for pupils that it is all play. The "doctrine of interest " 
as applied to school work has been greatly misunder- 
stood. There is an interest which is a natural form of 
intellectual feeling or emotion. It accompanies thought, 
prompts the will to act, and is re-enforced by thinking 
and acting. This is educative interest, and is the vital 
element in all effective school work. It is uplifting in 
its influence and abiding in its results, for it has the 
magic power of transforming the hardest lessons of the 
school into pleasant tasks. But this educative interest 
has its counterfeit. It is the shallow, fickle, reflex in- 
terest that accompanies the use of the senses only. It 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 239 

is one of the primitive forms of feeling, like fear and 
anger, but does not rise to the dignity of an emotion. 
It is transitory, and does not arouse the mind to think 
or to act. It is the interest that feeds on dime novels, 
shuns hard study, must always have something new, 
seeks emotional dissipation, shirks every difficulty, ig- 
nores duty, and ends in worthless character. 

This counterfeit form of interest is very much in evi- 
dence in our schools. In their efforts to arouse interest 
the old-time teachers invented new forms of bribery in 
the shape of prizes; the average modern teacher worships 
at the shrine of new methods and devices. Our school- 
supply houses do an immense business in supplying 
materials for "busy work." Patent devices for "arous- 
ing interest " are for sale at a penny a dozen. Our school- 
journals are full of catchy "methods" for teaching read- 
ing, language, nature study, and arithmetic without 
mental exertion on the part of the pupil, and these often 
constitute the sole stock in trade of institute instructors. 
Such devices seem to work well, to arouse interest, to 
awaken sensations, and to afford momentary pleasure. 
But they may do all this and still be of no educative 
value, or be even harmful, for although they may arouse 
temporary interest, their use does not result in knowl- 
edge, power, or skill. 

Interest for the sake of sensations merely is not edu- 
cative. Interest that does not lead to investigation 
and comparison is only emotional dissipation. Interest 
must not be permitted to end in sensation and feeling; 
it must result in thought and choice and conduct to be 
really educative. Object-lessons, manual training, na- 
ture study, music, drawing, and domestic science cannot 
claim a place in the course of study simply on the ground 



240 THE TEACHER AND. THE SCHOOL 

that they are interesting. Sensations of touch and 
sight and sound are not knowledge, as so many teachers 
seem to think; they are only the raw materials out of 
which knowledge is made. Sense-impressions are ex- 
ceedingly transitory states of mind, and the teacher who 
mistakes them for real knowledge will be surprised to 
find how quickly and how completely pupils forget 
their lessons. An inspector of schools once wrote: 
"To what purpose in life is a boy taught if the inter- 
vention of a school vacation is to be a sufficient excuse 
for entirely forgetting his instruction?" The exceeding 
great facility which pupils display in forgetting is the 
result of either no interest at all, which means compulsory 
learning, or of making interest end in mere sense-im- 
pression, which means sensational learning — the sen- 
sations of one lesson being constantly superseded by 
those of the next. This is not real school work; it is 
largely a waste of energy. It is what Mr. Carter has 
called "the artificial production of stupidity in the 
schools." 

(5) That a "Monotonous Round of Drudgery" Is 
School Work. — In maintaining that school work cannot 
be made all play, it must not be supposed that we advo- 
cate making the school-room a place of drudgery. This 
was the great fault of the old-time school. There were 
no interesting games, no nature study, no variety of 
method, no handwork, drawing, painting, moulding, and 
dramatizing. The routine of school work was unvarying. 
Object-lessons were unknown, and until the time of 
Comenius, text-books contained no pictures or illus- 
trations. There were no slates or blackboards, no 
charts or globes, no experiments or laboratories, no 
physical training or excursions. Under such conditions 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 241 

the average teacher could not create interest in school 
work. Pupils learned their lessons because they were 
compelled to do so. Punishments were harsh and brutal. 
The school was regarded by the pupils as a prison house. 

This conception of school work has not yet entirely 
disappeared. There are still many teachers who depend 
more upon force, threats, and punishment to secure study 
on the part of pupils than they do upon educative in- 
terest and good teaching. There are other more con- 
scientious teachers who seem to be afraid that school 
work may become so interesting that it will fail to pre- 
pare pupils for the battles of life. Such teachers insist 
that pupils must be broken in to hard work, interest or 
no interest. Life, they say, is full of drudgery, and the 
pupil's school work should prepare him for such effort. 

Such teachers have a mistaken conception of work. 
Work does not mean labor in the sense of disagreeable 
effort. School work performed under the spur of edu- 
cative interest is not drudgery. It is the free expression 
of the pupil's activity as truly as play is such. We may 
compel a child to learn a lesson by heart, but we cannot 
force him to wish to comprehend it. Where one pupil 
learns to study hard by threats and punishment, ten 
pupils are made dull, stupid, and dishonest by such 
treatment. No teacher can really compel the child's 
intellect to work alone; back of it there must be interest 
and will, and this interest should be spontaneous and 
natural. 

This is what Comenius meant when he said : "Learning 
should come to children as swimming to fish, flying to 
birds, and running to animals." Without interest there 
can be no proper learning. And where the desire for 
learning is encouraged by parents and teachers, where 



242 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the school buildings are light and clean and cheerful, 
where there are proper appliances for teaching, such as 
maps, charts, pictures, and libraries, where the subjects 
are not too hard for the pupil's understanding, where 
the teacher is kind, competent, and sympathetic, where 
public sentiment is heartily on the side of good schools, 
it should seldom be necessary to substitute force for 
interest as an incentive in school work. 

" As a final test by which to judge any plan of culture," 
says Herbert Spencer, " should come the question, 
Does is create a pleasurable excitement in the pupils? 
Nature has made the healthful exercise of our faculties, 
both of mind and body, pleasurable. Experience is 
daily showing with greater clearness that there is always 
a method to be found productive of interest, even of 
delight, and it ever turns out that this is the method 
proved by all other tests to be the right one." 

II. Right Views of School Work. — Work is energy 
put forth for a purpose. It is exertion guided by aim. 
It is the best available means of accomplishing a definite 
end. "Aimless work" is a contradiction of terms. 

(i) School Work Is Instruction and Training Guided 
by a Definite Educational Aim. — This aim must be in 
the mind of the worker from the beginning and must 
guide the choice and the use of means to attain the de- 
sired end. Held to this definition of work, much that 
passes in the school-room for work is not work at all. 
There may be regular effort on the part of the teacher, 
but it is only " beating the air." There may be con- 
scientious activity, but it is not work, for it does not 
accomplish any educational result. 

There are shiftless teachers as well as shiftless farmers 
and shiftless housekeepers. There is a striking para- 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 243 

graph on work in " Uncle Tom's Cabin," in which Mrs. 
Stowe describes that personification of common-sense 
and Yankee thrift, Miss Ophelia: "The great sin of sins 
in her eyes — the sum of all evil — was expressed by one 
very common and important word in her vocabulary, 
'shif tlessness ' ; and by this word she characterized all 
modes of procedure which had not a direct and inevita- 
ble relation to the accomplishment of some purpose then 
definitely held in mind. People who did nothing, or 
who did not know exactly what they were going to do, 
or who did not take the most direct way to accomplish 
what they set their hands to, were objects of her entire 
contempt." Applying these tests to the school, we 
readily see that school work ought not to be shiftless 
work, not aimless effort, but a systematic, vigorous 
putting forth of effort to realize a definite aim. 

(2) School Work Is Helping the Child to Realize 
His Possibilities. — The work of the school should be in 
harmony with the nature and aims of the school. Neither 
the limitations nor the possibilities of the school should 
be lost sight of. "What can the school and the teacher 
do for the child anyhow? Not very much, I tell you." 
This was the sneering question and inevitable answer 
of a dyed-in-the-wool believer in the power of heredity 
as the chief factor in shaping the child's life and char- 
acter. But to any fair-minded man or woman such a 
statement must seem extreme and even ridiculous. If 
our teachers and our schools are not doing very much to 
change the child's character and shape his destiny 
they should be reformed or abolished. The character 
of the pupil is greatly modified under the instruction 
and guidance of the true teacher (1) by the knowledge 
acquired; (2) by the habits formed; (3) by the power and 



244 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

skill gained; (4) by study and reflection under favorable 
conditions; (5) by association with other children under 
wise supervision; (6) and by the daily example and in- 
spiration of a leader, wise and generous and just, who 
holds before each pupil an ideal self and points the way 
to its realization. 

There are two important articles of faith that should 
be in every teacher's creed. These two articles are: 
(1) A belief in the " connectedness of humanity, " as 
Froebel puts it — belief in the natural capacity of the 
average child and his ability and tendency to grow into 
the typical man; (2) the tremendous influence of the 
cultured and sympathetic teacher in directing and aiding 
the child's development. Pestalozzi taught us to have 
faith in the capacity and educability of the ordinary 
boy and girl. Not many teachers would want to under- 
take to teach a school of seventy or eighty pupils 
like those that Pestalozzi taught at Stanz: "Most of 
them on their arrival were very degenerated specimens 
of humanity. Many were almost skeletons, with hag- 
gard, care-worn faces and shrinking looks; some were 
accustomed to begging, hypocrisy, and all sorts of de- 
ceit; others were broken by misfortune, patient, timid, 
suspicious, and entirely devoid of affection. But what 
was common to all was a persistent idleness, the result 
of their want of physical and mental activity. There 
was hardly one in ten that knew his A B C's. But this 
complete ignorance was what troubled me least, for I 
trusted in the natural powers that God bestows on even 
the poorest and most neglected children. I had ob- 
c ^rved for a long time that behind the coarseness, shy- 
ness, and apparent incapacity of children are hidden 
the finest of faculties, the most precious powers; and 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 245 

now even among these poor creatures by whom I was 
surrounded at Stanz marked natural abilities soon be- 
gan to show themselves. It was my object to arouse 
these powers, for I was convinced that I should be able 
to form the hearts and minds of these children almost as 
I wished. I felt sure that my affection would change 
the nature of these children as quickly as the sun changes 
the frozen earth in the spring, nor was I wrong." 

(3) School Work for Pupils Is the Solving of Problems 
That Grow Out of Their Present Interests. — Some of these 
interests grow out of the pupil's home life, others are 
connected with his plays and games and school compan- 
ionships, and still others are the product of his natural 
curiosity and vivid imagination. From all these sources 
a multitude of problems arise to capture the pupil's 
interest, grip his attention, and challenge him to effort. 
The school-house and all its equipment, the organiza- 
tion of the school and the entire course of study, the 
teacher and the methods of instruction are all for the 
purpose of suggesting worth-while problems to the pupil 
and helping him to solve them. The vital element in 
real school work is that the "things to be done" appeal 
to the pupil's deeper interests, are connected with his 
present needs, and are worth doing. It does not matter 
what we call these "things to be done," whether prob- 
lems, or projects, or project-problems, or lessons, or oc- 
cupations; but it matters greatly that in solving these 
problems the pupil is consciously at work to reach a 
definite result which has for him a real and immediate 
value. 

(4) School Work Is Acquiring Specific Skills Which 
Are Directly or Indirectly Valuable to Pupils. — No method 
has yet been discovered by which any pupil can use at 



246 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

one time all the knowledge and skill that he has. How- 
ever much we may insist that all school work shall 
consist of projects directly connected with the child's 
present needs and that the answers to these project- 
problems shall be capable of immediate application or 
bear directly on preparation for some specific vocation, 
the fact remains that every individual needs a large 
margin of knowledge and skill to meet new situations 
as they arise, and that all men and women are called 
upon as citizens and members of a social order to per- 
form services and meet obligations entirely outside of 
the limits of their particular vocation. For these rea- 
sons it is universally conceded that all children should 
acquire a reasonable mastery in the use of the " tools of 
civilization," reading, writing, geography, history, etc. 
Now the mastery of each one of these subjects is a matter 
of acquiring certain definite skills, or chains of reactions. 
Such skill is acquired only through repetition and prac- 
tice and the whole process is subject to the laws of habit- 
formation. Mastering a vocabulary, rate of reading, 
comprehension of the printed page, speed and accuracy 
in the fundamental operations of arithmetic, rate and 
quality in handwriting, ability to spell correctly, are 
all examples of such skills, and the acquirement of these 
specific habits must always constitute a large part of 
the work of the school. 

(5) School Work Is Creative Activity. — It seems to me 
that FroebePs idea of utilizing in education the play 
instinct of the child has been unduly emphasized and 
with unfortunate results. Such over-emphasis leads 
to the error of supposing that work cannot be made 
interesting in itself and for its own sake. This is to 
misapprehend Froebel. In the " Education of Man" 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 247 

he preaches the gospel of creative work as the basis of 
sound education. " God," he writes, " creates and works 
productively in uninterrupted continuity. Each thought 
of God is a work, a deed. Man should work, should 
create, like God. We become truly God-like in dili- 
gence and industry; in giving body to spirit, form to 
thought; in rendering visible the invisible." Creative 
work, useful employment, not play as mere amusement, 
are the root ideas of FroebePs philosophy. 

We have shown that school work should be done under 
the inspiration of educative interest if it is to develop 
the intellect, strengthen the will, and mould the char- 
acter. School work is not simply "hearing recitations," 
" keeping order," " puttering over non-essentials," just 
" doing things that are interesting," nor "mere drudg- 
ery." School work is instruction and training guided 
by definite educational aims; it is helping the child to 
realize his possibilities; it is aiding pupils to solve spe- 
cific problems that grow out of their present needs and 
can be interpreted in terms of their own experiences; 
it is acquiring specific skills and forming definite reac- 
tions to a social environment; it is guided, joyous, 
productive, and creative self-activity. 

III. Testing and Measuring Results of School Work. 
— Standards of measure are a recognized necessity in all 
lines of production. All the products of work must be 
estimated as to amount and value by certain accepted 
standards, such as the yard-stick, the bushel, the gallon, 
or the dollar. School work, too, must be subjected to 
accepted tests and measurements. 

(i) Traditional Method of Measuring School Work. — 
Until very recently pupils were classified into grades, 
groups, or classes on the basis of their ability to do the 



248 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

work of the grade or class to which they were assigned, 
and were advanced from grade to grade, awarded prizes 
and honors, and finally graduated on the record they 
made as ascertained by the application of certain tra- 
ditional standards of measurement. These standards 
had no scientific basis. They consisted of a combina- 
tion of: (i) Daily recitation marks; (2) oral tests and re- 
views; (3) note-book work and themes; (4) written ex- 
aminations. The results were estimated on a percent- 
age scale and each pupil's grade or rank was recorded 
in numerals, per cents, or letters. The "passing grade" 
was quite generally fixed at 70 per cent. 

The defects of such a method of measuring the results 
and worth of school work are: (1) It was crude and 
unscientific, and did not reveal the causes of failure nor 
suggest any definite basis for improving instruction; 
(2) it was variable, for no two teachers possessed the 
same standard; (3) it was inaccurate, vague, often mere 
guesswork ; (4) over-emphasis was put on mere memoriz- 
ing and the purely mechanical elements of the learning 
process; (5) pupils and parents regarded the grades as 
purely arbitrary, representing only the personal opinion 
of the teacher; (6) the method ignored the rate of work 
of pupils and was open to all sorts of evasions and 
cheating. 

Careful investigation of teacher's marks shows that 
even in such an exact subject as geometry the same ex- 
amination paper was marked as high as 90 per cent by 
some teachers, and as low as 30 per cent by other teach- 
ers, that even the same teachers varied in their standards 
of marking, and that as between different schools there 
is no common standard of proficiency in any subject 
or in any grade. 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 249 

(2) Scientific Measurement of the Results of School 
Work. — A scientific method of measuring school work, 
in order to be of very much practical value, must be 
simple enough to be used by the ordinary teacher. 
Such methods are now available for all superintendents 
and teachers. During the past few years such investi- 
gators as Thorndike, Courtis, Ayers, Kelly, Monroe, 
and Judd have perfected standard tests and units of 
measure in most of the school subjects. 

(a) The Problem of Determining a Standard of Measure- 
ment. — The first step in constructing a standard test is 
to analyze the process of mastering the subject to be 
tested into its simple elements. For example, there are 
two such elements in silent reading: (1) Rate, or the 
number of words read per minute; and (2) comprehen- 
sion, or the ability to grasp the thought accurately. In 
writing there are two simple elements, rate and quality. 
In working problems in arithmetic there are three ele- 
ments, speed and accuracy in adding, subtracting, mul- 
tiplying, and dividing, and the ability of the pupil to 
determine what steps are necessary to solve the problem. 
After selecting the specific subject and grade to be tested, 
the same set of problems or exercises is given to thousands 
of pupils of the grade selected, representing schools from 
all parts of the country. The papers are carefully 
graded, and the median score of all the papers is ac- 
cepted as the standard by which to measure the work of 
all pupils in the subject and grade so tested. This 
standard is as scientific and as reliable as the standards 
on which all life insurance is based. 

(b) How to Use the Standardized Tests. — Compara- 
tively few teachers have had any adequate instruction 
in the use of these tests, but all teachers know how 



250 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

unsatisfactory the old system of determining grades is, 
and are quite ready to welcome a more rational system. 
With a little help from principals and superintendents, 
teachers in graded schools soon learn to use the tests 
successfully. Even in the rural schools any intelligent 
teacher can master the use of the simpler tests if the 
following suggestions are observed. 

i. Select one of the simplest tests, like Ayers Gettys- 
burg Penmanship Score, Monroe's Silent Reading Test, 
Courtis Series B Arithmetic Test, or Ayers Spelling 
Scale. 

2. Master the printed directions for giving the test. 
Unless the teacher is thoroughly familiar with these 
directions and follows them with absolute fidelity, no 
results of any value can be expected. 

3. Grade all the papers with care, and record the 
results in the score-card. Each test provides a standard 
scale of measuring results and it is the teacher's problem 
to apply this scale to each pupil's work. The median, 
or class, score is found by arranging all the papers in the 
order of their value and taking the score on the middle 
paper, that is, the paper representing the half sum of all 
the papers. The scores should be recorded in the order 
of their numerical value and the scores for each grade 
kept separately. 

4. Give the most careful thought to the interpretation 
of the scores. The proper interpretation of the scores 
is the most vital part of the teacher's problem in mak- 
ing the test, for the chief purpose of the scientific mea- 
surements of the results of teaching is not to grade pu- 
pils but to furnish a solid foundation for improving the 
work of the school. In the interpretation of the results 
obtained in a test in silent reading, given to sixth-grade 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 251 

pupils, the teacher may discover that as a class the pupils 
are up to standard for their grade, but that very great 
differences in both rate and comprehension exist as 
between different members of the class. It may be 
found that some pupils in the class read five times 
as fast as others and that even greater differences exist 
in the comprehension of what is read. It will also sur- 
prise the teacher to find that, as a general rule, the pu- 
pils who are the fastest readers stand highest in compre- 
hension. The results of the test should reveal to the 
teacher the nature, the extent, and the cause of each 
pupil's deficiencies. Such causes are apt to be: (i) 
Weak vocabulary; (2) defective visualization; (3) lack 
of practice in silent reading; (4) carelessness and guess- 
work; (5) lack of interest and motive. 

5. Use the results of the tests as a basis for improved 
teaching. Whatever the cause of any pupil's defect 
may be, the value of discovering it will be very little 
unless both the pupil and the teacher are led to put 
forth an earnest effort to overcome it. When such in- 
telligent and purposeful effort is made, wonderful im- 
provement is possible in the pupil's silent reading, or his 
ability to add or subtract rapidly and accurately, or 
in the rate and quality of his handwriting. 

(c) Value of Scientific Tests and Measurements of 
School Work. — To the teacher the use of scientific 
measurements of school work is most helpful, for it : 
(1) Sets definite objectives to be reached by interpreting 
facts in terms of each pupil's needs; (2) furnishes a re- 
liable basis of comparing the work of different schools, 
grades, and pupils and reveals what it is reasonable to 
expect of pupils; (3) prevents waste of time and effort 
on work that pupils already know well enough; (4) dis- 



252 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

covers the weak spots in the method of teaching and 
shows where greater emphasis and drill are necessary; 
(5) discloses the individual differences between pupils 
in the same grade or class; (6) affords a definite means 
of self -measurement and professional growth as a teacher; 
(7) insures justice in the promotion of pupils. 

To the pupil the great value of scientific measurements 
of his work is that it enables him to measure his own at- 
tainments and to compare his own knowledge and skill 
in any subject with the accepted standard for pupils 
of his own age or grade. It sets before the pupil con- 
vincing evidence of his relative strength or weakness in 
a given subject and compels him to share consciously 
in the responsibility for correcting his own defects, 
and to become an active partner with the teacher in the 
work of the school. It emphasizes the importance of 
mastering the essential elements of the different subjects, 
and enables him to concentrate his effort where it is 
most needed. It recognizes the value of the rate of 
work, tends to prevent half-hearted effort, gives the 
pupil the strongest possible motives for the maximum 
of self-improvement by diligence in study and persis- 
tence in drill, and emphasizes the results of effort rather 
than the effort itself. 

To the superintendent the standardized tests and the 
statistical method of measuring school work are indis- 
pensable aids, for they enable him to compare the 
different States as to the efficiency of their school sys- 
tems and to assign each State its true rank; to com- 
pare his own school with that of other schools in his 
own State as to its cost, equipment, quality of teach- 
ing, salaries, organization, tax levy; and to measure 
and compare the schools, the grades, the teachers, and 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 253 

the progress of the schools in his own school system 
accurately and impartially. Indeed, without the use 
of standard tests and scientific measurements there 
cannot be a science of supervision. 

(3) Measuring the By-products of School Work. — In 
thus emphasizing the value and need of the scientific 
measurement of school work I have not been unmindful 
of the fact that many teachers succeeded most admirably 
under the old traditional system of estimating the re- 
sults of instruction, but they were teachers who always 
lived up to their light, earnestly sought to avail them- 
selves of every means of doing better work, and would 
be the first to welcome a more rational method of mea- 
suring school work than the one used in their own times. 
These gifted and successful teachers have always put 
great stress upon the by-products of school work, such 
as the spirit and attitude of pupils, their ideals and mo- 
tives, the habits of industry, accuracy, honesty, truth- 
fulness, and self-control acquired, and the atmosphere 
of the school. If, during the plastic years of school life, 
the learner has not acquired the power to stand on his 
own feet, conquer his evil tendencies, shun debasing 
surroundings, and hold to the right by his own inner 
strength, he is in dire danger of becoming a moral wreck 
and a social derelict. 

It is impossible to ignore or disguise the fact that these 
by-products are, in truth, the most valuable results of 
school work, and that they cannot be measured directly 
by any scientific standards yet invented. They are to 
a great degree too intangible and spiritual to be measured 
with exactness. But this does not mean that we have 
no method of testing rather definitely even these by- 
products of school work. Among these tests are these: 



254 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Does the school work accomplish day by day the ob- 
jects for which the school exists? Is there a perfect 
understanding and sympathy between pupil and teacher ? 
Do pupils work steadily under the inspiration of inter- 
est and duty? Are pupils attentive in the recitation? 
Are pupils regular and punctual in attendance ? Are the 
recitations characterized by life, good-feeling, and spon- 
taneity ? Is the atmosphere of the school one of home- 
like cheer, freedom, and helpfulness ? The teacher who 
can answer these questions in the affirmative need have 
little fear that his school work is not successful. 

(4) Remote Tests of School Work. — A long distance 
separates primary and elementary teachers from the 
finished product which results from their teaching. 
The remote tests of school work are the pupil's success, 
in the best sense, and his character. Time alone can 
reveal the full result of the work of the school in shaping 
the life and character of the pupil. Teacher and pupil 
part at the doorway of the school-house. After long 
years they meet again, clasp hands, look into each other's 
face. Not till then may the faithful teacher know the 
full power that he has exercised over the life of the pupil. 
Not till then may he hear from a grateful heart sincere 
thanks for the honest labors of former years. But it is 
worth the waiting. 

One evening after a day's work in a normal institute 
in a city in Iowa I met a gentleman who was a stranger 
to me. He stopped and said: "I hear you are from 

C F . Do you know Prof. B there?" 

"Yes, very well," I replied. Then he said: "Well, 
when you go home, please give him my love, and tell 
him I think of him every day. He was my teacher 
twenty-seven years ago, and he first made me believe 



TESTING AND MEASURING SCHOOL WORK 255 

that I could be somebody. Through all these years he 
has been my ideal man." He told me his name, and I 
at once recognized it as the name of the member of Con- 
gress from that district, one of the noblest men in the 
State, a brilliant lawyer, a splendid man. I carried the 

message to Prof. B , and I shall never forget the 

look on his face as he said: "It is worth while to be a 
teacher." 

"I took a piece of living clay, 
And gently formed it day by day, 
And moulded, with my power and art, 
A young child's soft and yielding heart. 
I came again when years were gone, — 
It was a man I looked upon, 
He still that early impress bore, 
And I could change it never more." 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Cubberley, "School Organization and Administration," chap. 
VIII; Wilson and Hoke, "How to Measure," chaps. I, X, XII 
Rapeer, "Teaching Elementary School Subjects," chap. XXIII 
Strayer and Engelhardt, "The Classroom Teacher," chap. IX 
F. M. McMurry, "Elementary School Standards," chaps. I, II 
III, IV; Strayer and Thorndike, "Educational Administration,' 
Part IV; Starch, "Educational Measurements," chap. XV 
Thorndike, "The Principles of Education," chaps. Ill, V, XII 
Chapman and Rush, "Scientific Measurement of Classroom 
Products"; Bureau of Educational Measurements and Stand- 
ards, Emporia, Kansas; Russell Sage Foundation, New York 
City; Monroe, "Measuring the Results of Teaching." 



CHAPTER XVIII 
NATURE OF THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 

Definitions of Teaching. — In studying the nature of the 
teaching process, we shall not derive very much aid from 
the attempts that have so far been made to define teaching, 
Indeed, Dr. Trumbull says: "Out of an extensive study 
of the literature of teaching, for now more than twenty 
years, I can say with positiveness that, from the days of 
Roger Ascham down to the latest European and American 
writers, hardly one writer in fifty has even attempted to 
tell his readers what he means by the term teaching, or to 
indicate the precise nature and limits of the teaching 
process as he understands that process. In hardly more 
than half a dozen instances have I found an educational 
writer attempting to explain his understanding of this term 
teaching. " 

Most of the attempts to define teaching are misleading, 
figurative, indefinite, or too general to serve any useful 
purpose. Some such definitions are these: "Teaching is 
the art of human development"; "Teaching is simply 
helping the mind to perform its function of knowing and 
growing"; " Teaching consists in fitting or dove- tailing 
new thoughts and emotions with those already in the 
pupil's possession"; "Teaching is the art of promoting 
self -evolution." 

One of the best and most famous definitions of teaching 
is that of Jacotot: "To teach is to cause to learn," This 

256 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 257 

definition has served as a model of many others: "Teaching 
is causing another to know"; "Teaching is making the 
pupil think the thoughts of the lesson"; "Teaching is the 
occasioning of those activities in the learner that result 
in knowledge, power, and skill"; "Teaching is the process 
by which one mind, from set purpose., produces the life- 
unfolding process in another." 

Teaching is a Two-sided Process. — All these definitions 
imply that teaching is a double process, and that where 
there is no learning there can be no teaching. Teaching 
always implies two persons both of them active over the 
same thing, but not in the same way. One teaches; the 
other learns. What is taught and learned constitutes the 
lesson. This lesson serves as the meeting-point of the 
teacher's mind with that of the pupil. All the work of the 
school revolves around this lesson. The teacher assigns 
it, the pupil studies it. In the recitation the teacher 
questions, the pupil answers; the teacher explains, the 
pupil gives attention the teacher suggests data, the pupil 
infers results; the teachei l^ustrates, the pupil forms vivid 
images; the teacher pomts the way to a generalization, the 
pupil grasps a new thought. Thus the teacher must plan 
the work, determine the aim, direct the process; the pupil 
must be teachable, alert, self-active receptive. The 
teacher instructs, tests, trains; the learner acquires knowl- 
edge, power, and skill; but all this is cond T tioned on the 
self activity of the pupil. Learning is exactly what the 
teacher cannot do for the pupil. Joseph Payne says: 
"The teacher can no more think or practise or see for 
his pupil than he can digest for him or walk for him." 

The Psychology of Teaching. — Stated in the simplest 
terms of psychology, the twofold process of teaching con- 
sists in stimuli presented by the teacher and appropriate 



258 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

reactions to these stimuli on the part of the pupils. Learn- 
ing in all its forms of knowledge, power, and skill, so far as 
school work is concerned, is the result of these reactions of 
the pupil to the stimuli presented and controlled by the 
teacher. The word stimulus here means any object, 
force, action, event, w T ord, or idea that awakens a response 
in the pupil. The responses of the pupil include any act, 
emotion, thought-process, decision which is the result of 
the stimulus presented. From this point of view, teaching 
consists in the use of definitely and logically related stimuli 
planned and directed by the teacher, together with their 
corresponding reactions on the part of the pupil. When 
these stimuli are the teacher's presence, voice, manner, 
gestures, questions, explanations, illustrations, suggestions, 
and the responses of the pupils are interest, attention, 
answers, questions, discussions, solving a problem, draw- 
ing a picture, or reading a paragraph, the exercise consti- 
tutes a recitation and involves both teaching and learning. 
Teaching Not a Mechanical Process. — While teaching has 
its mechanical side, it can never be a mechanical process. 
There must be a definite aim as well as material appliances 
and physical acts to accomplish these aims, but the process 
itself is always a mental, a spiritual one. Method, text- 
books, devices, lessons do not constitute the teaching 
process. There must be the vital contact of mind with 
mind > ?nd this contact must take place in the realm of 
the child's own personal experience. Teaching must 
begin within the range of the child's interests and must 
seek tc enrich and develop those interests, for only in this 
way can instruction produce the life-unfolding process in 
the pupil. Learning is not a passive reception of subject- 
matter; for as Dr. Dewey says: "What a child gets out 
of any subject presented to him is simply the images which 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 259 

he himself forms with regard to it." On the other hand> 
in the act of teaching, the true teacher is conscious of the 
lesson as subject-matter only as a means of developing the 
mind of the pupil. The pupil thinks the lesson, but the 
teacher must think the lesson plus the mental and spiritual 
processes by which it is being acquired and assimilated 
by the pupil. To do this requires an accurate knowl- 
edge of the pupil's capital and how it must be invested to 
yield the best returns. 

The Child's Capital. — Teaching must appeal to the whole 
child — his bodily organism, senses, feelings, intellect, will. 
The teacher must take into account the pupil's original 
capacities and instincts, his inborn curiosity, love of activity 
and play, and his tendency to imitate. Nor must the 
acquired interests of the child be overlooked, his stock of 
ideas already accumulated, his habits already formed, his 
likes and dislikes, his fears and hopes and ambitions, his 
moral standards, his individual eccentricities. All these 
constitute the child's capital, and all these must be reck- 
oned with in the process of teaching. So many teachers 
fail to see any real connection between psychology and the 
art of teaching that a brief discussion of the child's capital 
as related to the nature of the teaching process will be 
given. 

(i) The Child? s Nervous System as Related to Teaching. 
—The teacher stands outside of the child's consciousness> 
and can work on his life and mind only by affecting that 
consciousness through the nervous system by means of 
stimuli. These stimuli set into action the appropriate 
sensory nerves, through which means certain impressions 
are made upon the cells of the cortex. These impressions 
when interpreted by the mind give rise to images and ideas 
which always tend to go out in some form of expression. 



260 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

If these ideas are not permitted to go out into motor action, 
the nervous force so checked must find expression within 
the bodily organism, must flow off from brain and nerves 
into the muscles, the circulation, the respiration, the diges- 
tive organs; and this is an inner response to the stimulus. 
If the ideas are allowed expression in outward action, then 
the motor areas of the cortex and the motor nerves must 
be brought into use. Such an action is an outward re- 
sponse to the stimulus. Thus learning can always be 
expressed in the double terms of brain exercise and mental 
activity. 

That all mental activity is accompanied by nervous 
changes is a familiar idea, but that mental states are 
reflected in the muscles and that they influence all the 
vital operations of the body is not so well known. It is 
also true that our states of mind are exalted or depressed 
by purely physical conditions. There seems to be a more 
or less complete paralleasm between mental phenomena 
and physical states, and this parallelism is more marked 
in children than in adults. Translated into physiological 
terms, the child's ceaseless activity is the result of abundant 
nutrition and rapid growth. He is excitable, suggestible, 
impulsive, superficial because his ideas always tend to go 
out into motor expression and he has little power of reflec- 
tion, deliberation, or inhibition. He is pretty much the 
slave of his instincts, his physical environment, and bodily 
feelings, and it is the purpose of education to set him free. 
He acquires new ideas with marvellous facility, because his 
nervous system is plastic. Moreover, every impression 
made on a brain cell changes its structure and leaves a 
tendency in the cell to react in the same way again, and 
this is the physical basis of memory and habit. All the 
outside impressions and influences affecting the child's 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 261 

growth as an organism are expressed by the term environ- 
ment; while from within are the complex influences of 
race, called heredity. Any serious lack or defects in the 
early environment of the child will leave areas in the 
cortex undeveloped or wrongly developed, and either of 
these results will always remain a hindrance to the child's 
mental growth. A many-sided interest leading to a wide 
range of physical activities is requisite to arouse into action 
all the cells of the cortex, and. the whole course of study and 
the entire process of education and teaching must be care- 
fully planned and adapted to meet the needs of the child's 
successively ripening instincts and budding powers as they 
awaken into life under the influence of heredity. 

To arouse an interest in school work has always been 
a. difficult task. The physical effects of interest are in- 
creased blood supply to the brain and a quickened pulse. 
It is through the child's leading interests that the teacher 
may discover the real growing point in the child's mind, 
for entirely new objects have little power to awaken interest 
and old objects have lost their charm. 

To understand these physical factors and nervous 
changes that condition all education, to be familiar with 
the road through which we must reach the child's mind, to 
take advantage of the child's ripening powers and interests 
and to see how to supply the right stimuli at the right time, 
to guard the pupil against fatigue and waste of energy, and 
to enable him to do his school work under the best possible 
physical conditions-— all these are vitally connected with 
the nature and success of the teaching process. 

(2) The Contents of the Child's Mind. — The contents 
of the pupil's mind are the accumulated results of his past 
experiences; that is, the effects of the use of his powers of 
body and mind The systematic study of this mental 



262 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

content as manifested in the average adult person is the 
science of general psychology. There are many depart- 
ments of psychology, depending upon the method of study 
or the special field of research selected for investigation; 
hence we have the terms introspective psychology; genetic 
and race psychology; experimental, animal, physiological, 
abnormal, individual, and social psychology. But the 
teacher's chief concern is obviously in those departments 
of psychology that deal with the growing mind of the child 
and the laws that must shape its proper unfolding, for upon 
these laws the science of teaching must be based. It is 
impossible to discuss the nature of the teaching process 
intelligently without constant reference to the fact that the 
child mind is a growing, developing mind and that there 
are certain laws that control or modify such growth. 

A brief statement of the child's mental development, 
expressed in the ordinary psychological terms, will give 
us the basis for the proper understanding of the funda- 
mental laws that govern the teaching process. 

(a) Sensations. — The power that the mind has to 
receive impressions from the material world through the 
senses is called sensation. A state of consciousness pro- 
duced by the action of any stimulus upon a sensory nerve 
is called a sensation. Sensations are what Pestalozzi 
called "passive sense-impressions" as distinguished from 
"active sense-impressions," or percepts. They are the 
simplest states of consciousness and constitute the founda- 
tions of all knowledge; or, as Comenius puts it, "There 
is nothing in the intellect which has not first been in the 
senses." 

There are four factors in the production of a sensation: 
(i) A stimulus; (2) a sensory nerve to carry the impres- 
sion made by the stimulus to the brain cells; (3) a con- 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 263 

scious mind; (4) a change in the conscious mind. Some 
force is required to overcome the inertia of the nerves and 
brain cells, and the point at which the mind can just begin 
to distinguish the sensation is called the threshold of 
sensation. 

Sensations differ greatly as to their quality, intensity, 
and duration and these differences furnish the materials 
for the fundamental intellectual operations of compar- 
ison, discrimination, selection, assimilation, and associa- 
tion. Owing to the fact that sensations always have tone, 
or the element of pleasure or pain, they form the basis of 
feeling and emotion. Thus the materials upon which the 
mind works come to it through the senses. Our percepts, 
our memory images, our concepts,, our beliefs and opinions 
are all based upon this material. 

(b) Percepts. — A percept is the consciousness of any 
object as occupying space, possessing certain qualities, and 
actually present to the senses. The manifold objects of the 
external world crowd upon our senses, giving rise to count- 
less sensations; we attend to some of these, compare them, 
note their likeness or difference to former sensations we 
have had, and infer that they are caused by certain stimuli. 
This process is called the interpretation of sensations. The 
mental act is perceiving; the power of the mind to act in 
this way is called perception; the result in consciousness 
of the act is called a percept. Percepts constitute real 
knowledge of individual objects. The word "object" 
here means any individual thing present to the senses, any 
single fact, date, event, relation, or quality. Percepts are 
also called individual notions or concrete notions. 

As to their nature, percepts are vivid mental pictures 
dependent upon external objects, their qualities and rela- 
tions; they are transitory states of mind, coming and going 



264 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

rapidly with our constantly changing environment; they 
are largely independent of the will in their origin; they are 
simple when derived through one sense only, and complex 
when they are the result of the combined action of two or 
more senses; and they are the basis of all memory images. 
In forming percepts the mind is by no means passive. 
Objects are not simply stamped on the mind as a seal is 
stamped on wax. The same object may appear very differ- 
ent to two individuals or to the same person at different 
times. New impressions are interpreted by means of old 
ones, and thus every new percept is changed and colored 
by the contents of the mind. From these considerations 
it is plain that we cannot tell how any new object will 
appeal to a child or be interpreted by him unless we know 
something of his previous experiences. Very many of 
these experiences survive in the mind as memory images. 
(c) Memory Images. — "A memory image," says Locke, 
"is a revived percept only less vivid." Remembering is a 
complex act of the mind, for it involves (i) retention, (2) 
reproduction or recollection, and (3) recognition. The 
impressions made upon the brain cells in the act of receiv- 
ing sensations modify these cells, and these modifications 
tend to become permanent. This is the physical basis of 
memory and is called retention. The power of the will 
to cause these brain cells, without the aid of any physical 
stimulus, to work again as they worked in the act of 
sensation and perception, and thus call back a former 
experience, is called reproduction or recollection. The 
power of the mind to know this experience as an actual and 
personal one and refer it to a definite time and place is 
called recognition. Thus memory is the mind's power to 
retain, reproduce, and recognize any past experience and 
refer it to a definite time and place. Memory images are 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 265 

independent of external objects. In perception actual 
material stimuli are presented to the senses. In remem- 
bering, these stimuli are represented in the mind in the 
form of memory images. Perception gives us command 
of the present; memory makes us master of the past. 

From earliest infancy the child has been accumulating 
experiences of every kind — experiences of taste, smell, 
touch, muscular movements, hearing, and sight. Memory 
forms images of these experiences. As soon as he acquires 
spoken language he learns to call these experiences by 
certain names. These images of past experiences with 
the names for the same constitute the child's stock of 
knowledge, or the contents of his mind. Thus memory 
renders the child less and less the slave of the objective 
world. In the place of actual sensations and percepts he 
substitutes memory images and thus saves times and 
energy. Moreover, these images of past experiences tend 
to arrange themselves in definite and related groups based 
on some thought relation. These types, or groups, of 
images are arranged in such a way that any one image of 
a group tends to suggest the others. These groups of as- 
sociated images are sometimes called apperception masses. 
They seem to have the power of reaching out, as it were, 
to meet any new related images or ideas that enter con- 
sciousness and of assimilating them, thus making a con- 
stantly richer and more complex mental content. This 
process constitutes growth in knowledge. 

(d) Images of Imagination.— As we have seen, a memory 
image is one which serves as a symbol of actual previous 
experiences. These images are so nearly a literal repro- 
duction of such experiences that the mind easily recognizes 
them as based on reality. But the mind also has the power 
of modifying these images in many different ways. It may 



266 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

think of them (i) as dissociated, or separated into parts, 
or changed in time or space; (2) as enlarged or diminished; 
(3) as simply combined, without change, with other images 
or parts of images; (4) or the mind may select certain parts 
or elements of images, change them to fit some definite 
plan, and out of these parts, so changed, construct a new 
image. Imagination is the power of the mind to dis- 
sociate the elements of past experiences and recombine 
them into new forms. Imagination may be simple or 
complex, mechanical or constructive, dissociative or asso- 
ciative. In its complex form it involves memory, com- 
parison, abstraction, judgment, and will. All its materials 
are based on sense-perceptions. It creates nothing. Yet 
through this magic power of the mind the child, under a 
skilful teacher, is able to modify his percepts and memory 
images in such wondrous fashion as to build up vivid 
pictures of mountains and oceans that he has never seen, 
of distant places that he has never visited, of important 
events of past centuries, of the operation of invisible 
forces and laws, and of the ideals to which he aspires; and 
these images of the imagination, these children of fancy, 
these ideals of excellence and nobility may become the 
most potent forces in shaping his character. 

(e) Concepts. — A concept, or general notion, is the sum 
of all the qualities common to a class. Concepts cannot be 
imaged, for an image must contain the individual qualities 
of an object, whereas a concept must contain only those 
qualities that are common to the whole class. Concepts 
are not fixed and constant, but are always in process of 
expansion and development. Very young children form 
concepts, but these are comparatively crude. To change 
these crude, imperfect concepts into logical, exact, com- 
plete concepts is the chief business of education and ex- 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 267 

perience. This is the great truth which Pestalozzi so 
reiterates in "How Gertrude Teaches Her Children." To 
him clear ideas are the goal of all instruction. Read- 
ing, writing, numbers, drawing were only means by which 
the pupil's knowledge "should grow from confusion to 
definiteness: from definiteness to plainness; and from 
plainness to perfect clearness." This progress to clear 
ideas is not a steady, unbroken one. It is an irregular 
growth out of mental confusion and uncertainty into clear- 
ness and certainty. At times there seems to be no prog- 
ress whatever; then there is a period of rapid growth. 

The psychology of the teaching process must deal 
constantly with the manner in which clear concepts are 
formed. The formation of a concept always implies 
thought, but the thought process need not be a continuous 
one. From earliest infancy children are close and constant 
observers. They compare, examine, note likenesses and 
differences, sift out qualities, and, in a crude way, classify 
and define objects. Long before they enter the school, 
children have learned to put certain objects into the class 
horse and certain other objects into the class flower or 
house or good. They have learned that some things will 
burn, that some things creep or fly or run. The processes 
of observing, comparing, classifying are as natural to chil- 
dren as playing or running, and are usually unconscious 
processes. Thus in his out-of-school experiences the 
child's concepts are formed bit by bit, through repeated 
acts of observation and comparison. But in the school, 
under the direction of the teacher, concepts should be 
reached by more continuous and systematic thinking. 

This mode of thinking is called induction. Induction 
is thinking from sensations and percepts to concepts. It 
begins with the observation of individual cases, facts, 



268 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

objects, relations, and by means of comparison, abstract 
tion, and generalization reaches up to a general principle, 
truth, class, or law. The reverse of this process of thinking 
is called deduction. It is clear that all inductive thinking 
must be based on actual personal experience, observation, 
and experiment. If all the individuals in a class are 
examined in making an induction, the conclusion is called 
a perfect induction. If only a few individuals are exam- 
ined, and some logical reason is discovered why all other 
objects of the class must possess a certain quality, the 
induction is called imperfect; but if no such logical reason 
is discovered, the induction formed would be a hasty 
induction and would not be trustworthy or valid. As 
De Garmo says, "If we infer too much, we think we per- 
ceive what is not true; if we infer too little, we are of those 
who, having eyes, see not." The steps in thinking the 
concept, as the inductive process is called, and their 
relation to teaching require explanation. 

First Step, Observation. — Bain says, "Observation is 
sense-impression plus inference." In the observation of 
objects, qualities, and processes in school work the pupil 
employs the same powers of sensation, perception, and 
inference that he uses out of school, but he uses them in a 
different way. Under skilful teaching he observes more 
carefully and he examines m.»re minutely. The school 
limits the range of the child's observation, but what he 
loses in extent he gains in clearness and depth of impres- 
sion. By attending to fewer things he gains in power of at- 
tention. There is a great deal of truth in the statement that 
we can neither know nor touch nor see except as we have 
been trained to know and touch and see. It is one of the 
great ends of school training to transform the spontaneous, 
careless, almost unconscious observation natural to chil- 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 269 

dren into the close, persistent, exact, and systematic ob* 
servation of the trained student or scientist. The materials 
at the teacher's command for training pupils in observation 
are abundant and varied. They include all the natural 
environment of the school, the soils, rocks, and strata; the 
changing seasons, clouds, winds, fogs, rain, and snow; 
the varying appearance and position of the sun, moon, 
planets, and stars; the trees and plants, their kinds, 
growth, flowers, fruits, and various uses; animals, as to 
their size, habits, form, color, instincts, movements, food, 
enemies, and uses. And in addition to all these, there are 
the materials that may be drawn from the pupil's social 
environment, the persons whom he meets, their occupa- 
tions, interests, classes, dress, customs, institutions. And 
yet with all this wealth of material close at hand, teachers 
too often fail to make use of it. They attempt the im- 
possible by trying to teach concepts in the form of defini- 
tions and rules as mere abstractions, without any sure 
foundations of actual experience and observation on the 
part of the pupil. "To exercise the senses carefully in 
discriminating the differences of natural objects is to lay 
the foundation of all wisdom, all eloquence, and of all good 
and prudent action. The right instruction of youth does 
not consist in cramming them with a mass of words, 
phrases, sentences, and opinions collected from authors. 
. . . Not the shadows of things; but the things themselves, 
which make an impression upon the senses and imagina- 
tion, are to be brought before the youth." 

Second Step, Comparison. — Comparison always implies 
two objects or ideas to be compared, and the purpose of 
comparison is to discover the likenesses and differences 
between these objects or ideas. Some of these likenesses 
and differences lie on the surface and are easily discovered, 



270 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

others are not at first apparent and must be sought for 
diligently. Some are unimportant, others are essential. 
Children very early acquire great facility in discovering 
resemblances among the people and objects that surround 
them. They soon come to understand what constitutes a 
horse or a chair or a cat or any other familiar object. 
In school work this process of comparison must be stimu- 
lated and directed, for it forms the basis of clear and 
accurate conception. Only by the constant exercise of 
comparison can children form a proper concept of Wash- 
ington, Lincoln, Arnold, and Nathan Hale, or form any 
adequate notion of such terms as ocean, hill, valley, desert, 
fraction, quotient, phrase, sentence, etc. 

Third Step, Abstraction. — In the process of comparison 
the mind notes certain qualities of the things compared, as 
color, form, size, weight, structure, materials, arrange- 
ment, and use. Some of these are seen to be necessary 
to the very nature of the things compared, and therefore 
are called essential qualities. Other qualities, not common 
to all the objects compared nor necessary to their existence, 
are seen to be non-essential qualities. The mental act 
of selecting or picking out the common and essential 
qualities of an object and rejecting the non-essential ones 
is called abstraction. Thus the child compares the animals 
that he sees, notes their form, size, color, and habits. He 
observes that some walk or run, that others fly or swim or 
crawl. He discovers that some of them live in holes, 
others in nests; that some are covered with hair, others 
with fur, feathers, scales, or shells. He learns that some 
of them are tame, others are wild; some are useful to 
man, others are regarded as enemies. All these facts must 
be compared, elaborated, connected by the learner. Grad- 
ually the common and essential qualities of all these differ- 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 271 

ent animals are sifted out from the great number and 
variety of qualities, and these essential qualities form the 
basis of the crowning act in the inductive process; that is, 
generalization. 

Fourth Step, Generalization.— By generalization we mean 
the mental act by which the learner forms a class, or head, 
including all objects that possess certain common and 
essential qualities. In observation, comparison, and ab- 
straction the mind deals with a limited number of individ- 
ual objects and their qualities and sifts out some quality or 
qualities which are common to them all; but in generaliza- 
tion the mind classifies under one head not only all the 
objects so far examined that possess the common quality 
or qualities but also all other objects possessing such 
quality or group of qualities. Thus the number of objects 
in a class becomes indefinite. In the act of generalization 
the mind shakes off the ordinary limitations of time and 
space and number and forms a universal or general notion. 
This general notion is called a concept. It includes an 
indefinite number of objects but a definite number of 
qualities. When expressed in language these general 
notions, or concepts, take the form of words, definitions, 
laws, principles, rules, maxims, proverbs. These concepts 
are the aim, or goal, in all inductive teaching; and their 
skilful and ready use is the aim of deductive instruction. 
They are the means by which new ideas and experiences 
are assimilated. Without these our knowledge could not 
be classified, nor could we form any conclusion that would 
be valid beyond the limited range of our own personal 
experience. 

Thus through his own personal experience, supple- 
mented by the systematic instruction of the school, the 
pupil rises step by step out of the confusion and indefinite- 



272 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ness of sense-impressions into the realm of clear and precise 
ideas. As Pestalozzi says* 'The world lies before our 
eyes like a sea of confused sense-impressions flowing into 
one another. If our development through nature only 
is not sufficiently rapid and unimpeded, the business of 
instruction is to remove the confusion of these sense- 
impressions; to separate the objects one from another; to 
put together in imagination those that resemble or are 
related to each other, and in this way to make all clear to 
us, and by perfect clearness in these to raise in us distinct 
ideas." At first the child's concepts are crude, imperfect, 
inaccurate. Such concepts are called psychical, or crude, 
concepts. Little by little through the constant repetition 
of the mental processes of observation, comparison, and 
generalization, described above, these crude and imperfect 
concepts grow in accuracy, clearness, and defmiteness until 
they include all the common and essential qualities of the 
class and no other qualities. Such concepts are called 
logical concepts. Now text-books contain these logical, 
complete concepts in the _orm of definitions, rules, laws, 
principles, and children are too often set to learning them 
from the book. That this method of procedure is utterly 
stupid, unnatural, and unpsychological any one who has 
read the preceding discussion can understand. 

(3) The Factors of Feeling and Will. — We have now 
completed our brief survey of the child's mental capital 
and the processes by which it is acquired. It has been 
shown that sensations, percepts, memory images, images 
of the imagination, and concepts constitute the materials 
with which the teacher must work in the teaching process, 
and the mental acts through which the child accumulates 
these materials have been indicated. But the child is not 
all intellect. He possesses feeling and will, and these 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 273 

powers must be reckoned with in teaching. Indeed, these 
factors of feeling and volition are so important that no 
teacher who ignores them can be successful. Thoughtful 
teachers, even with no professional training whatever, very- 
soon discover through experience the immense importance 
of the three words, study, interest, and attention as related 
to effective school work. But it would seem that some 
professionally trained teachers fail to realize that study is 
thinking, or the exercise of the intellect; that interest is 
feeling; and that attention is will. Now the mind is not a 
hydra-headed thing. Thinking, feeling, willing are not 
separate, independent powers, or functions, of the mind. 
They are all present, in different relative oroportions, in 
every mental act. Each deliberate act of the child, each 
mental image, each idea has its thought side, its emotional 
side, its volitional side. Intellect is the discriminating and 
assimilating power of the mind; a feeling or an emotion 
is the pleasurable or painful side of any mental state; will 
originates in the tendency of an idea or an image to go out 
into action. Feeling inspires and stimulates thought and 
action; will guides, sustains, and controls them. 

Feeling, in the form of interest, must enter into every 
step of the teaching-learning process. To the real teacher 
the pupil's interest in the subject of the lesson is a vital 
consideration. This interest may be direct or indirect. 
Direct interest is that interest which the pupil has in a 
subject for its own sake, its own attractiveness. Indirect 
interest is simply a means to an end. Interest is transitory, 
lasting only for the time being, or permanent. Transitory 
interest may be almost valueless as to its influence upon 
character; permanent interest, on the other hand, is 
vitally related to growth in character. 

Herbart points out two sources of interest, nature and 



274 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

society. When interest is directed toward nature it may 
be of three kinds, empirical, speculative, and aesthetic. 
There are also three kinds of interest that grow out of the 
pupil's relation to society; these are sympathetic interest, 
social interest, and religious interest. In view of the fact 
that every teacher has all these sources of interest at his 
command, Mr. Quick says: "I would go so far as to lay 
it down as a rule that whenever children are inattentive 
and apparently take no interest in a lesson, the teacher 
should always look to himself for the reason." This much, 
at least, may be safely affirmed; the school work of the 
student will be of very little benefit to him unless he is 
actively interested in his lessons. And when such interest 
is lacking, it is the teacher's first duty to seek for the cause 
of such lack of interest and do his very best to remove it. 
The cause may be in the pupil, the teacher, the subject, 
the home, or the outside influences surrounding the pupil. 
Again, it must be noted that not one step of the teaching 
process can be successfully accomplished unless the pupil's 
will is taken into account. How to capture the pupil's 
will is the teacher's greatest problem in the recitation. 
This is the problem of attention. Voluntary attention is 
consciousness directed toward some specific object or 
idea. Without the attention of the class the teaching 
process breaks down utterly. And this attention cannot 
be a forced, grudging attention; it must be free, spontane- 
ous, eager, persistent. Here the teacher must employ all 
his skill in method, all his expedients and devices in illus- 
tration, all his powers of persuasion, all his knowledge of 
the child's instincts, motives, and interests. A little reflec- 
tion will convince the teacher that in order to secure and 
hold the attention of the pupils to the lesson in hand they 
amst have some definite and immediate end or aim in vie^ 7 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 275 

and that the attainment of this aim must appeal to them 
as worth while and must be within the range of their 
powers. The teacher must also realize that the three 
factors in attention are (i) the physical condition of 
the pupil; (2) the kind and the amount of the stimulus; 
(3) the relation of the stimulus to the child's instincts and 
acquired interests. Teachers should not expect pupils to 
give prolonged attention to an uninteresting subject or to 
an unvarying stimulus. They should not expect attention 
where there is no sufficient incentive. They must make 
due allowance for fatigue and must seek to vary the work 
of the recitation by introducing appropriate forms of motor 
expression. 

Summary. — In this discussion of the nature of the 
teaching process it has been shown that most definitions 
of teaching fail to give an adequate conception of the 
process; that true teaching cannot be mechanical; that 
in the teaching process the teacher must deal with the 
whole child, his nervous system, his instincts and acquired 
interests, the contents of his mind, his feelings, and will. 

Some Important Inferences. — (1) If the teacher is to be 
anything more than a "mere hearer of lessons," he must, 
in the act of instruction, be able to follow the pupil's men- 
tal processes in acquiring any certain kind of knowledge. 
Such knowledge on the teacher's part is by no means 
impossible, for, notwithstanding the great complexity and 
variety of the pupil's mental processes, there are two, and 
only two, great types of thinking, and these two types of 
thinking serve to explain what goes on in the mind of the 
child in the act of learning. Induction and deduction are 
the common names for these two types of thinking. In- 
ductive thinking, as we have shown, is thinking from 
percepts, individual notions, particular cases, concrete data, 



276 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

specific facts, qualities or relations to concepts, defini- 
tions, laws, rules, principles, or general classes. De- 
ductive thinking is the reverse of inductive thinking. 
Both of these types of thinking are equally natural and 
equally important in the teaching process. Every 
child thinks both inductively and deductively in all 
stages of his development. Now it is a comparatively 
easy thing for the teacher to follow these two fundamen- 
tal processes in the child's act of learning. The pupil 
is not conscious of the mental processes involved in an 
act of learning; he is conscious of the lesson only and the 
external means of instruction used by the teacher. But 
the teacher is already familiar with the subject-matter 
and is free to think of the pupil's mental processes in 
the act of learning. Moreover, the teacher can deter- 
mine beforehand from the nature of the subject-matter 
of the lesson and his knowledge of the nature of the pu- 
pils' thinking whether they must think inductively or 
deductively in the recitation, and thus he can adapt 
his lesson plans, questions, illustrations, and entire 
procedure to meet the needs of the pupils. Only in 
this way can teaching become a simple, natural, rational 
process. 

(2) The recitation is a double process, a thinking to- 
gether of teacher and pupils. The thinking of the pu- 
pils must be vitally related to that of the teacher; each 
must match, so to speak, or dovetail with the other. 
Nothing should be permitted to interfere with this 
double process of thought. "The stream of thought," 
to use a favorite expression of Dr. James, should flow 
on uninterruptedly during the recitation, gathering force 
and momentum at every stage. 

(3) All the powers of the child should be appealed to 



THE TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS 277 

in the process of teaching — interest, attention, percep- 
tion, memory, oral expression, imagination, comparison, 
inference, motor activity. 

(4) Every step in the teaching-learning process in- 
volves certain fundamental laws, and the method of 
teaching and all the devices used to make the method 
effective must be governed by these laws. Some of 
these laws will be stated in the following chapter. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Strayer, "A Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chaps. 
II, III, XIX; Freeman, "How Children Learn," chaps. I, XI; 
Colvin, "The Learning Process," chaps. I, II; Starch, "Educa- 
tional Psychology," Part II; Earhart, "Teaching Children to 
Study," chaps. II, III; Swift, "Learning by Doing," chaps. II, 
IV, V; Dewey, "Interest and Effort in Education"; Charters, 
"Methods of Teaching," chaps. VIII, IX, X; Hall, "The Con- 
tents of Children's Minds on Entering School"; Thorndike, 
"Principles of Teaching," chaps. I, X, XI; Bagley, "Classroom 
Management," chaps. IX, X; Home, "Psychological Principles 
of Education," chaps. V, IX, XXII; Angell, "Psychology," 
chaps. XV, XVI; Edwards, "Fundamental Principles of Learn- 
ing and Study." 



CHAPTER XIX 
SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 

That there are laws of teaching must be admitted by all 
who believe in a science of education. It is hardly rational 
to assume that all the efforts of the great educators of the 
past centuries have been utterly fruitless and that we have 
nothing to learn from their experience. It is by no means 
claimed that all the laws of teaching have been discovered. 
Only a few of them have been formulated. Others are 
in process of formulation. Still there are some laws of 
teaching, even with our imperfect knowledge of psychology, 
which are founded upon a solid basis. These laws the 
teacher should know and apply. 

I. The Law of Sense-perception. — "There is nothing in 
the mind that has not first been in the senses." 

This is the statement of Comenius, the disciple of Bacon, 
and it was in following out this principle that he wrote his 
famous "Orbis Pictus," the first text-book containing 
pictures. In his course of study for elementary schools 
he included measuring and weighing, music, drawing, 
experimental physics, geography, the arts and handicrafts. 
He would furnish occupation for the hands of the learner 
as well as the mind. He thought that the hands and the 
senses are the child's first teachers. These same princi- 
ples have been emphasized by Rousseau, Pestalozzi, and 
Froebel, but they have won ground very slowly in their 
application to the actual work of the schools. It is so 

278 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 279 

much easier to assign lessons by pages to be memorized 
from the text-books than it is to plan work for the exercise 
of the senses and the judgment, so much easier to be a 
mere taskmaster than a trainer, that teachers, even those 
who know better, fall into the habits of mere verbalism 
and formalism against which the great reformers in educa- 
tion have so strenuously contended. 

And yet it is becoming more apparent every year that all 
educative influences must affect the mind by means of the 
body. The senses, as Bunyan so beautifully put it, are 
the real gateways to the soul. The better one's senses are 
trained the fuller and richer are the materials for the 
structure of his mental life; for without vivid and varied 
sense-perceptions there can be no clear and accurate 
memory ■ images, no sure basis for constructive imagina- 
tion, and no certainty of judgment and inference. " Open- 
ing the windows of consciousness" for the pupil is the 
teacher's first vital task in instruction. 

II. The Law of Motor Reaction. — Every sensory stimu- 
lus that affects the child's consciousness suggests some 
mental state, or idea, and this mental state, or idea, tends 
to go out into motor action. 

There is a motor element in every distinct image, idea* 
or emotion. Impression always suggests expression. That 
a sensory stimulus tends to produce an appropriate muscu- 
lar response is a law that applies to the cortex as well as to v 
the spinal cord. In the case of the spinal cord, however, 
the response is immediate and is called a reflex act or an 
instinctive act. But the tendency of an image or an idea 
to go out into motor action may be restrained or inhibited 
by an effort of will. 

It is a well-known fact that every emotion has its char- 
acteristic form of physical expression. Anger, fear, hope, 



280 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

joy, hate, all have their familiar signs. Even where the 
tendency of an idea or emotion to go out into its appropriate 
physical expression is checked or outwardly suppressed, 
the effects of such a check or suppression are felt in all the 
bodily organs — mirrored in the face and muscles, revealed 
in the deeper breathing and the quickened heart-beat. 

This law makes it obligatory upon the teacher to remove 
all disturbing stimuli from the school-room and to avoid 
every unpleasant or irritating suggestion; for anger, fear, 
and dislike, either given vent or suppressed, are a fearful 
drain upon the vital powers of both teacher and pupils. 
This law also makes clear the great importance of provid- 
ing appropriate and abundant means of physical expression 
in the work of the school, especially in the lower grades, 
for the attempt to express an idea is the surest and best 
method of making that idea clear, distinct, and a perma- 
nent possession. It would seem that ideas must be ex- 
pressed in some form of motor activity in order to become 
clear and definite. From this it will be seen that the chief 
value of painting, drawing, modelling, and manual training 
in the schools is not to make artists or mechanics of the 
pupils, but that these modes of expressing ideas through 
physical action form the only possible basis of clear think- 
ing and rational education. 

It should not be forgotten, however, that children from 
the first are to be taught to check and restrain motor im- 
pulses which ought not to be expressed. Social customs, 
decency, politeness, and the requirements of the school 
all make it imperative that children should not permit 
every impulse, idea, and emotion to find expression. At 
first the child is the slave of his emotions and feelings, has 
very little power of restraint, and does not understand the 
reasons why he may not cry or fly into a passion; but little 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 281 

by little he must be taught the customs and conventions 
of civilized society, taught to inhibit undesirable impulses, 
suppress selfish emotions, and refrain from unbecoming 
actions. This power of self-control, of daily subordinating 
the lower to the higher self, of enthroning reason and 
conscience in the life is the most precious training that the 
school can give. 

III. The Law of Apperception. — New experiences of 
every kind are interpreted and assimilated only by means 
of old experiences. 

Apperception is the combining and relating activity of 
the mind. It is the common element in perception, repre- 
sentation, conception, and reasoning. It involves reten- 
tion, comparison, and constructive imagination. 

Through apperception the mind combines all the differ- 
ent sensations derived through touching, seeing, smelling, 
and testing a peach or an apple into one percept. Through 
apperception the mind unites the different percepts of 
trees, houses, hills, and valleys into one complete image of 
a landscape. Through apperception the mind groups 
related ideas into one cluster or collection called an apper- 
ceptive mass, and these clusters of ideas are being con- 
stantly enlarged and enriched and made more perfect by 
the addition of new ideas. And, lastly, the mind through 
its apperceptive activity brings into unity and harmony all 
these various groups or masses of knowledge, correlates 
all our acquisitions in science, history, art, literature, and 
the ordinary affairs of life, and forms the mental content 
that characterizes us as individuals. Thus, as Baldwin 
says, "This combining of all the items or groups of items 
into ever larger and more fruitful combinations is the one 
typical way the mind has of acting." 

It will very readily be seen that this great law of apper- 



282 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ception applies to the teaching of all subjects, and that 
little or no progress can be made in teaching any lesson 
unless the teacher conforms to this law. Moreover, the 
laws of the association of ideas grow out of the law of 
apperception. These laws are based on the fact that 
when any ideas have been apperceived by the mind as 
related in time, space, resemblance, difference, whole and 
parts, identity, cause and effect, design, etc., any one of 
them will tend to suggest the others. Facts that are thus 
firmly welded together become the permanent possession 
of the mind, and the great function of the teacher as an 
instructor is to assist the pupil to establish these logical 
and lasting relations among the ideas acquired. A few 
suggestions for applying this law may not be out of place. 

(i) The starting-point in every lesson must be within 
the range of the pupil's knowledge and his previous ex- 
periences. Unless the teacher complies with this require- 
ment, there is no real contact between the lesson and the 
pupil's mind, and failure is a foregone conclusion. The 
teacher must begin his instruction where he finds the pupil 
and must think with him, otherwise there can be no pro- 
gressive development of the ideas of the lesson; for the 
child cannot make images unless he has first acquired the 
necessary raw materials through sensation and perception. 

(2) The individual members of the class will receive 
very different impressions from the same lesson. Just 
as the same oak-tree may call up very different images in 
the mind of a hunter, a lumberman, and an artist, so may 
the same lesson call up very dissimilar images in the minds 
of the pupils that compose the class. Each pupil will see 
in the lesson pretty much what he brings to it. He will 
interpret it in terms of his past experience. The teacher 
must know something of the contents of the pupil's Kiind, 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 283 

must know something of his previous experiences, before 
he can foretell the effect of the lesson or judge how it will 
be apperceived by him. What each particular pupil 
thinks or feels or wills during any lesson will depend on 
his past thoughts, feelings, and actions. 

In a certain reading class the lesson for the day was the 
poem, * ' Woodman, Spare That Tree. ' ' The teacher called 
on one little boy to read the lines: 

u Twas here my sisters played, 
My mother kissed me here." 

The little fellow shook his head and sat still. The 
teacher insisted, commanded. At last he rose, began the 
lines falteringly, broke down, and sobbed. Not until one 
of the other children told the teacher that the boy's mother 
had died only a few weeks before school began did she 
understand his seeming stubbornness. 

(3) The teacher should strive to present the ideas con- 
tained in the lesson in organic relation to each other, not as 
a mass of disconnected facts. As we have stated, facts 
connected by means of thought relations are easily asso- 
ciated together in the mind, and will afterward tend to 
suggest each other. But the pupil must apperceive these 
relations, be fully conscious that they exist, and understand 
their connection with his old knowledge and former 
experiences. 

(4) The law of apperception reveals to the teacher the 
immense value of the child's previous experiences, espe- 
cially his out-of-school experiences, as a factor in instruc- 
tion, as well as the importance of a thorough mastery of 
essentials by the constant application of definitions and 
rules to new cases. The old knowledge of the child should 



284 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

never be permitted to become "dead knowledge," but 
should be kept alive through constant use in acquiring 
new knowledge. In this way the old knowledge of the 
pupil is worked over, revived, enlarged, enriched, com- 
pletely mastered. 

(5) The law of apperception explains many of the well- 
known educational maxims, such as "from the known to 
the unknown," "from the empirical to the rational," 
"from the simple to the complex," "from the concrete to 
the abstract." These maxims should not be regarded 
as universal laws of teaching. 

IV. The Law of Self-activity. — The right unfolding of 
the mind is possible only through its own activity and under 
proper conditions. 

Exercise is the law of growth, but the proper kind and 
amount of exercise is essential to the right kind of growth. 
Organs are modified by function and disuse causes atro- 
phy. Therefore the mental and moral unfolding of the 
child needs intelligent direction. It is the business of the 
home and the school to give such direction. But the child 
can never be a passive partner in his own development. 
Before the school age the child learns to talk, to use his 
hands, to walk, and a hundred other things, urged on by 
his natural self-activity and his instinct to imitate those 
about him. This persistent imitation always involves will 
and some form of expression and is the beginning of educa- 
tion. At first the child imitates only the external act of 
another, but very soon he makes the act his own, gets hold 
of the purpose of the action and the motives of the actor. 
Thus from being an imitator he becomes an originator, a 
creator. This desire to create, this self-activity, leads the 
child to the constant exercise of his powers both physical 
and mental. He has a restless eagerness to touch, to 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 285 

examine, to pull apart, and to change everything about 
him. He uses his senses, his hands, his legs, his voice 
constantly, and in this way acquires ideas with marvellous 
facility. Now why should this natural mode of acquiring 
ideas be changed as soon as he enters school? Why 
should this natural method of learning be replaced by the 
stupid process to which he is subjected in the average 
school? Why should it be thought necessary to make 
him sit still, keep quiet, and become a mere passive recip- 
ient of ideas which in some mysterious manner the words 
of the teacher or the text-book are supposed to impart? 
Telling a boy how to move his hands and feet in swimming 
is not teaching him to swim. The teacher cannot see or 
hear or remember for his pupils. Only as they actively 
participate in the act of instruction do children really learn. 
The teacher can suggest the aim, plan the work, select the 
materials for the lesson, supply the motives, furnish the 
data for inferences, but learning must be the result of the 
pupil's own activity. Thinking is an individual process 
not a class affair. Real study is not a partnership concern. 
Knowledge is neither imparted nor absorbed through 
words without ideas, but knowledge, skill, and self-reliance 
are the result of the pupil's own self-activity wisely di- 
rected. The loquacious teacher is a mind-killer. 

The law of self-activity consistently applied in. the 
education of the pupil makes him an independent and a 
willing worker, guarantees vividness and permanency to 
knowledge, creates enthusiasm for learning, cultivates 
courage in mastering difficulties, and prevents school life 
and school work from degenerating into hateful tasks 
imposed by the arbitrary authority of the teacher. 

V. The Law of Aim. — Unless both teacher and learner 
are conscious of a definite aim, continuous co-operation 



286 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

in the process of instruction cannot be secured. Or, in 
shorter form, no aim, no will; and no will, no work. 

This law applies to the study of a lesson as well as to 
the recitation. 

The value of having a definite aim is revealed in every 
step of the teaching process. It serves as the welding- 
point of the effort of teacher and pupils, and makes it 
possible for them to become co-workers. The pleasure 
of learning grows out of the consciousness of achieve- 
ment, and every specific aim realized by the pupil is 
transformed into power to accomplish higher and more 
difficult things. 

The aim of the lesson must appeal to those ideas al- 
ready acquired by the pupil with which the new ideas 
of the lesson can be most readily associated. These 
old ideas are the source of the pupil's interest in the 
new lesson, and hence become his motives to self -activity. 
The pupil must see from the first what the aim of the 
lesson is if he is to use all his powers freely and vigorously 
in the effort to reach that aim. So the teacher must not 
only have a specific aim himself in the recitation, but 
must also succeed in having the pupil set up the same 
aim in his own mind, for without a clearly defined aim 
there is no will, no interest, no self-activity. 

That teacher who is careful to have a definite aim, 
who realizes that no mere statement of the aim of the 
lesson will suffice to fix that aim in the pupil's mind, 
who through skilful questioning, guided by the laws of 
association, calls up in the pupil's consciousness those 
images and ideas most nearly related to the new ideas 
to be taught, may rest assured that much of his activity, 
his energy, his effort deserves the name of " work." 

Without such an aim the teacher's method must be 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 287 

as indefinite as that of a certain old Scotch professor of 
theology who, when asked how he treated his subject, 
replied: " I just begin with infinity and go right on." 

And without such a clear and definite aim in his mind 
tne pupil will not be able to prevent his mind from wan- 
dering from the work in hand. 

VI. The Law of Induction. — In the earlier stages of 
learning, inductive thinking must precede deductive 
thinking. 

The reasons for this law have been given in the pre- 
ceding chapter, where the steps in thinking the concept 
were discussed. Whenever the goal, or aim, of the les- 
son is a concept, definition, law, rule, or general prin- 
ciple, the thinking of the pupil must proceed inductively. 
But to assume that all lessons, even in primary classes, 
can be taught inductively is a fundamental pedagogical 
error. Many such lessons must consist of memory 
work, pure and simple. Inductive thinking begins with 
objects, specific cases, concrete data, individual notions, 
and through comparison and abstraction reaches a 
general conclusion or truth; but this process cannot be 
a continuous, unbroken inductive process. The child 
does not attain general truths and laws at one great 
stride of thought. He gets a very imperfect concept 
of a class at first, only a glimpse of the truth or law, and 
must wait for further experience to perfect his knowledge. 
His first inductions are only partial generalizations. 
But he must not wait to act until he fully understands 
the law or completely masters the principle. He must 
act on his imperfect knowledge and test his conclusions 
by applying them. Thus through deductive thinking 
he is constantly testing and supplementing his imper- 
fect concepts and partial generalizations acquired 



28S THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

through induction. This will appear more clearly in 
the discussion of the next law. 

VII. The Law of Deduction. — Inferences reached 
through inductive thinking must be applied to new cases 
before they can be thoroughly understood or produce 
any permanent effect upon the character. 

It is the function of induction to furnish the mind 
with logical concepts in the form of definitions, rules, 
and principles; the function of deduction is to apply these 
laws and principles to new cases, to the forecasting of 
results, to anticipating the effects of known causes. 

We have pointed out the fact that concepts are of two 
kinds: (i) Crude and imperfect, (2) logical, and that it 
is a mistake to suppose that children must wait until 
they attain logical concepts before they can reason de- 
ductively. Children delight to apply their knowledge 
as fast as they acquire it. When a boy one year and a 
half old first saw a tiger in a cage, he clapped his hands, 
crying out, "See, papa, big kitty." He was thinking 
deductively. It is the very nature of the child to make 
the facts and inferences which he has already acquired 
the premises for further conclusions. He turns his 
knowledge to account as fast as he acquires it. In fact, 
his strongest motive for acquiring knowledge is to use it 
and to use it immediately. This tendency should be 
encouraged, not thwarted, by the teacher. Only in this 
way does knowledge acquired become a means of train- 
ing in skill and efficiency. One of the most common 
and pernicious practices of the school-room is to treat 
the concepts, definitions, and rules acquired by the pu- 
pils at great cost of time and effort as so much material 
to be stored away in the mind for use at some remote 
future time. Not knowledge, but the ready and skilful 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 289 

use of knowledge, is power. As Dr. Dewey says: " Edu- 
cation is not preparation for life merely; it is life." 
Knowing and doing are too often widely separated. 
That conduct and profession so often contradict each 
other is one of the greatest evils in our American life. 
The true test of character is found in the application of 
one's knowledge to the affairs of daily life. To apply 
knowledge properly as fast as it is acquired is, then, one 
of the most important habits that school training can 
give to the pupil. 

VIII. The Law of Interest and Attention. — The greater 
the interest and attention of the pupil when ideas are 
first conceived, the more vivid and permanent will be 
the knowledge gained and the less need will there be of 
repetition. 

Interest is feeling and attention represents the will. 
No lesson can be made vital and effective in the child's 
life or exert any strong influence upon his growth and 
character that does not enlist his feelings and capture 
his will. In fact, some degree of interest and attention 
is necessary on the part of the pupil to secure the merest 
husks of knowledge from the text-book or the lesson, so 
that teachers are under the necessity of either compel- 
ling a show of interest and attention by threats and pun- 
ishments or of buying it with marks and prizes. But 
how different such interest and attention are from the 
genuine articles is shown by the extreme facility with 
which children forget what they have so painfully learned, 
and by the further fact that what they learn in school 
has very little effect in shaping their conduct out of 
school. 

Real interest is any form of feeling that arouses the 
will to voluntary effort. It is the source of motives and 



290 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

incentives. There are habits of feeling as well as habits 
of acting, and the teacher should strive to form in the 
pupils correct, many-sided, and permanent interests and 
emotional habits. The law of apperception makes it 
clear that all new interests must grow out of old ones. 
So the great secret of " creating interest" in school work 
is to discover what interests the pupil has already de- 
veloped, and then to graft on to his old interests the 
bud of a new one. 

Attention grows out of interest and re-enforces it. 
The teacher should never lose sight of the fact that the 
child's susceptibility to stimuli and his power to respond 
to them vary greatly with his age, the stage of his devel- 
opment, with different days, and with different periods 
of the same day. The wise teacher will always take ac- 
count of the amount of nervous energy at the disposal 
of his pupils, for to make large demands on the interest 
and attention of pupils who are thoroughly fatigued is 
to "kick against the pricks." 

The effects of concentrating the attention upon any 
image or idea are: (i) the image or idea grows in vivid- 
ness, clearness, and definiteness; (2) it increases in feel- 
ing or interest; (3) it gains in motor power or its ten- 
dency to go out into action. Thus, such an image or 
idea becomes a motive to action. From this it is clear 
that forming the character is, in reality, training the 
will or, in the last analysis, cultivating the power of 
voluntary attention and forming habits. This is what 
Rooper means when he says: "I am not sure that if the 
teacher's art is to be summed up briefly it may not be 
described as the art of developing the power of fixing the 
attention." 

IX. The Law of Habit-forming. — Every voluntary 
action produces some modification of the nervous sys- 



SOME LAWS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING 291 

tern which persists as a tendency to repeat the act, thus 
forming the basis of habit, and conscious repetitions of 
this act result in its automatic performance. 

A habit is an acquired reflex act, or series of acts, 
originally performed by voluntary effort. The physical 
basis of habit is the plasticity of the matter composing 
the nervous system. We speak of matter as plastic 
when it is pliable enough to yield to impressions which 
gradually change its structure, but stable enough to 
maintain its organization during the process of change. 
Such changes are illustrated in the action of a magnet 
on a piece of iron, in crystallization, and in the harden- 
ing of plaster of Paris. Thus the physical basis of habit 
is exactly the same as that of memory and the associa- 
tion of ideas, for habit is only one phase of the general 
law that, "All mental experiences occurring together 
tend afterward to suggest each other." To quote Dr. 
Carpenter: "Our nervous system grows to the modes in 
which it has been exercised." 

One of the most important functions of the school is 
to train pupils in the formation of right habits and to 
safeguard them from bad ones. Success here depends 
on the foresight, intelligence, watchfulness, patience, and 
persistence of the teacher. The work of training pupils 
in right habits is literally one that requires "precept 
upon precept, line upon line; here a little and there a 
little." There must be sympathy, but no softness; a 
steady purpose, but no haste; constant supervision, but 
no spying; variety in instruction and originality in de- 
vice, but steady, relentless drill and practice in learning 
and doing the things in education that must be made 
automatic. 

Dr. James says: "The great thing in all education is 



292 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

to nake our nervous system our ally instead of our 
enemy.' ' 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

James, "Psychology," chaps. X, XIII; Seashore, "Elementary 
Experiments in Psychology," chaps. IX, XII; Lange, "Ap- 
perception"; Rooper, "A Pot of Green Feathers"; McMurry, 
"The Method of the Recitation," chap. IX, and "General 
Method," chap. V; Quick, "Educational Reformers," pp. 396- 
413; Woodworth, "Psychology," chaps. II, IV, XI, XV, XVI, 
XVTII. 



CHAPTER XX 
IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 

Forms of Teaching-learning. — The form of educa- 
tional procedure that stands first in the order of time is, 
of course, the teaching of children in the home. The 
parental instinct, care and protection of the young, 
helping them to master the tools of the race and the 
customs, ideals, and beliefs of the social group into 
which they are born are the foundation of all educa- 
tion. Just as the human race is maintained by the 
transmission of physical life from parent to child, so 
must the social inheritance of civilized men be preserved 
and renewed by transmitting it from the older to the 
younger members of society through education. The 
child is born into the social group of the family, helpless 
and ignorant of all things. He must begin the learning 
process immediately. The home is his first school and 
his parents are his natural teachers. 

Other historic forms of the teaching-learning process 
are: (i) The tutor plan of instruction; (2) the apprentice 
system of vocational training; (3) learning by means of 
lectures; (4) memorizing text-books and each pupil re- 
citing verbatim to the teacher* (5) the modern class, or 
group, recitation. 

The Recitation Lesson as a Form of the Teacnmg- 
learning Process. — In our American schools the teach- 
ing-learning process takes the form of a class or group 
exercise conducted by the teacher. In this exercise a 
problem, topic, project, or portion of subject-matter 

293 



294 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

from a book is discussed. Whatever the subject-mat- 
ter of discussion may be constitutes the lesson for the 
period, and this lesson usually forms one step in a series 
of lessons in a specific subject arranged in some order of 
sequence. The lesson is generally assigned by the 
teacher and, except in the primary grades, is studied by 
the pupils before the recitation. 

Aims of the Recitation Lesson. — The aims of the reci- 
tation lesson, as given by Dr. W. T. Harris, are : 

(i) To draw out each pupil's view of the lesson and to 
test his grasp of the subject. 

(2) To correct the pupil's wrong impressions and en- 
large his horizon by comparing his views with those of 
the other members of the class. 

(3) To arouse interest in the next lesson, stimulate 
pupils to study it, and to direct their study. 

(4) To cultivate the habit of close and continuous at- 
tention. 

(5) To bring out the teacher's highest powers as an 
instructor and leader. 

(6) To supplement what the pupil gives. 

(7) To inspire self-activity, power of independent 
study, and keen insight. 

(8) To teach pupils the great advantages of helpful 
co-operation with others. 

(9) To help the pupil to overcome harmful individual 
peculiarities. 

Possibilities of the Recitation Lesson. — It is evident 
that Dr. Harris had great faith in the possibilities of the 
recitation lesson. Many educational writers regard the 
recitation lesson as the principal feature of the school. 
They assert that all the other school activities are only 
a preparation for the recitation lesson, and that the deep- 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 295 

est interests of the school are all focussed in this teaching- 
learning process. Dr. Hamilton says : "The recitation is 
the gateway of opportunity both to the teacher and the 
child. To the teacher it is an opportunity to impart 
knowledge, to guide effort, to develop power, to form 
habit, to mould character, to deepen impression, to 
train in the art of study, to inspire the child with a love 
of learning, and fix forever his habits of thought and ex- 
pression. To the child it is an opportunity to acquire 
knowledge, power, and skill, and to catch glittering 
glimpses of the great sunlit valley of truth from the 
glowing hilltops of the teacher's inspiration." 

Why the Recitation Lesson May Fail to Realize Its 
Possibilities. — That the recitation lesson may fail most 
pitifully to realize its aims and possibilities is very much 
in evidence. Some of the reasons for such failure are : 

(i) Many Teachers Do Not Know How to Teach. — 
Such teachers may fail because they have made no prep- 
aration for their calling, are deficient in knowledge, do 
not plan their work nor assign lessons intelligently. 
They neither study the lessons nor train pupils how to 
study. They are slaves to the text-book, have no aim 
in teaching the lesson, no standards of measuring results, 
no enthusiasm. Concerning the recitation lesson under 
such teachers, the author of "An Ideal School' 7 asks 
these pointed questions: " Can an immature person study 
well when distracted by the more lively exercise of the 
class recitation? Is it not possible that much valuable 
time of school life has been squandered because the chil- 
dren have not been systematically taught how to study ? 
Does the old-time recitation secure individual interest, 
give free opportunity for individual advancement, and 
eliminate all dead time ? Are all the pupils of the class 



296 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

equally occupied during all the moments of the recita- 
tion? Are not some pupils carefully calculating their 
chances of being called on, with every encouragement to 
take a rest as soon as their turns have passed ? Are not 
many learning skill in looking the teacher squarely in the 
eye without hearing a word that is being said? What 
fraction of the recitation period is the pupil actually re- 
citing ? Is it not true that the best pupils are the ones 
most called on when the visitors are present? Is not 
the recitation a fearful bore to the visitor who is forced 
to endure its long, tortuous, and uninteresting passage ? 
What are the ethical values of this kind of work ? " 

(2) Misuse of Text-books. — When children first come 
to school they are unable to make any use of the text- 
book as a means of preparing lessons, for the simple rea- 
son that they cannot read. The primary teacher must 
of necessity make very little use of text-books in class. 
The recitation cannot be simply a testing process. The 
pupil's mental energy is centred upon immediate acts of 
perception, experimentation, and dramatizing, not on 
attempts to reproduce, through memory, words learned 
from a book. The teacher's attention is fixed on the 
mental processes of the child, his difficulties and how to 
overcome them, and this is a main requisite of good 
teaching. Such an exercise is neither a study period nor 
a recitation in the ordinary use of the term, but a blend- 
ing of both, a "study recitation." By this method the 
progress of the pupils in the lower grades in mastering 
the difficult arts of reading, phonics, writing, numbers, 
and accumulating facts in nature study and history is 
simply wonderful. 

And yet, as soon as the child has learned to read, books 
on all subjects are thrust upon him; he is confined to his 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 297 

seat for long periods and told to "get his next lesson," 
winch is commonly assigned by pages, with no sugges- 
tion or help as to its proper preparation. The pupil's 
time is sharply divided into study periods and recitations. 
Teacher and pupil are widely separated, coming into di- 
rect contact only during the class periods. Such a divi- 
sion of the pupil's time and such a separation of teacher 
and pupil are, of course, inevitable if the pupil is to 
learn the art of independent study; yet there is no doubt 
but that in our American schools these changes are made 
too early in the pupil's advancement and too suddenly; 
that pupils are required to devote too much time to the 
study of text-books; and that they are not given proper 
assistance in such study. 

(3) Lack of Proper Surroundings and Facilities. — The 
construction of the school-house may be so primitive that 
no provision is made for recitation rooms. There may 
be no workshops, laboratory, or gymnasium, and the 
facilities for teaching, such as blackboards, maps, charts, 
tools, garden, play-ground, magazines, and reference 
books are wholly lacking. These conditions have been 
discussed in Chapter XVI. 

(4) Lack of Motivation and Social Co-operation on the 
Part of Pupils. — Motives grow out of instincts, impulses, 
interests, and felt needs. They naturally take the form 
of problems to be solved, actions to be performed, aims 
to be realized. They are guided, re-enforced, modified by 
efforts to realize them, especially so when one's efforts 
are shared with others. This is what we mean when 
we say that "we learn to do by doing." But with in- 
efficient teachers, misuse of text-books, and lack of 
proper surroundings and facilities for teaching, the reci- 
tation lesson does not satisfy any felt need of the pupils, 



298 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

nor help them to formulate problems, nor appeal to them 
as a worth-while affair. There is nothing to stimulate 
self-activity, arouse interest, challenge thought, invite 
action. Under such conditions pupils become listless, 
discontented, sullen. They form habits of divided atten- 
tion, simulated interest, weak moral conduct, and must 
be held in school by bribes or threats. 

Shall the Recitation Lesson Be Abolished? — In view 
of the many abuses of the recitation lesson some educa- 
tors advocate giving it up altogether. Ignoring the real 
causes of the failure of the recitation lesson to realize its 
possibilities and starting with an outgrown definition of 
the recitation, based on the etymology of the word, these 
writers claim that the recitation lesson as a teaching- 
learning process is hopelessly wrong in theory and bad 
in practice. One such recent book says: "To get our 
lesson means to get his (the author of the text-book) 
words by heart. What is committed in the seats is re- 
peated in the recitation. The teacher assigns the pages 
and hears the lesson 'said.' This is the recitation 
method." But such is not the recitation method as Dr. 
Harris saw it nor as it is used by any good teacher. 

Other critics of the recitation lesson assert that it aims 
to secure only the memory of information, and informa- 
tion merely for "cold storage," provides only an artificial 
setting for learning, leaves no opportunity for reasoning, 
inverts the natural order of instruction by teaching prin- 
ciples prior to the problems in which they are involved, 
and makes no provision for using knowledge to modify 
conduct. 

That these defects are not inherent in the recitation 
lesson, but are due to its misuse is, at least, a possible 
inference. Both method and subject-matter are made 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION-LESSON 299 

concrete and vital in the teacher. As long as weak, un- 
trained, immature teachers are tolerated, as long as 
" eighth-graders attempt to teach sixth-graders," there 
will be poor recitations; but such teachers would do not 
one whit better with any method of teaching suggested 
by those who advocate abolishing the recitation-lesson. 

Improving the Recitation Lesson. — On the whole, it 
seems to be good sense and good pedagogy to seek edu- 
cational progress on its instruction side, not by abolish- 
ing the recitation lesson, but by improving it. Such 
improvements are now being made, and they constitute 
the most fascinating phase of current educational 
thought. Some of the methods of improving the recita- 
tion lesson are: 

(i) By the Better Motivation of School Work. — School 
work is motivated for pupils when it appeals to them as 
worth while, is full of meaning and interest, satisfies their 
felt intellectual, recreational, or social needs, and calls 
forth their best powers in steady and vigorous efforts to 
solve definite problems and to achieve clearly foreseen 
ends by the best available means. Work is properly mo- 
tivated when the worker is vitally and personally con- 
cerned in the result of his labor and works with this 
result in mind to urge him on to activity and guide him 
in action. Under efficient teachers such adequate mo- 
tivation of school work is not only possible but is an 
accomplished fact in thousands of school-rooms. Pupils 
enter whole-heartedly into their work because the teacher 
has selected the subject-matter, assigned the lessons, 
and shaped conditions for study in such a way that 
each class faces a worth-while situation in the recita- 
tion lesson, confronts a definite problem, and each pupil 
in the class becomes an active partner in the teaching- 



300 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

learning process. Working in such an environment 
pupils are alert, inventive, resourceful. They use tools, 
books, magazines, maps, and laboratories as helps in 
getting clear ideas. They enter eagerly into the class 
discussions. They question each other. They seek new- 
sources of information, perceive important thought re- 
lations, discover new principles, and thus reorganize 
their past experiences in terms of a better control of 
their physical and social environment. Such a recita- 
tion lesson in the school-room is just as much a part 
of life, just as truly a real situation, just as natural a 
setting for learning, just as fully a "purposeful activ- 
ity," just as rich in opportunity for growth as any expe- 
rience in the home, the field, or the shop can possibly be. 
(2) By Socializing the Recitation. — Dr. Harris declared 
that one of the important aims of the recitation lesson is 
to " teach pupils the great advantages of helpful co-op- 
eration with others." Thinking, working, playing with 
others, and sharing in the stimuli and responses that 
make up the activities of the recitation lesson, children, 
if wisely guided and supervised, are educated into "so- 
cial efficiency. " No form of so-called "individual in- 
struction" yet devised by those who would abolish the 
recitation lesson supplies an adequate social environ- 
ment for the teaching-learning process. The recitation 
lesson is socialized when the class and the teacher work 
together as members of the group, when the physical 
and social contacts between the child's life in school and 
his out-of-school experiences and interests are utilized as 
sources of problems ^of study, when the subject-matter 
of the lesson is not so many pages of a text-book but a 
definite portion of experience to be made significant and 
to be reorganized in terms of usable information and 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 301 

social conduct, and when a fair share of the responsibil- 
ity for the class work is assumed by the pupils them- 
selves. As far as possible pupils are to be encouraged 
to help the teacher in the selection of the problems to 
be worked out, the planning of the means to be used to 
achieve the desired results, the gathering of material, 
and the assignment of specific work for each member of 
the class. Each pupil should make a definite contribu- 
tion to the work of the class and all pupils should be 
given opportunities for trying out ideas, for the manipu- 
lation of materials, for purposeful observation, for free 
discussions and questions, and for the discovery and 
formulation of new concepts and principles. The social- 
ized recitation lesson thus becomes the means of utilizing 
the individual differences and abilities of all the mem- 
bers of the class in mastering the tools of social progress, 
in productive team-work, and in moral conduct and self- 
control based upon a sense of personal responsibility. 

(3) By Supervised Study. — If the school is to be a 
copy or epitome of the world's activities it must include 
work — productive work, and a lot of it. The lot of the 
average man or woman out of school is dominated by 
work. The individual can neither develop his native 
powers nor serve society effectively except through work. 
The real productive work of the world is not an affair 
of pageants, picnics, celebrations, and fairs, and, valu- 
able as are these recreative activities, they alone cannot 
serve as the basis of the school curriculum. Nor is the 
world's work done under a dramatic setting with stage 
effects and applauding spectators, but in homes, shops, 
offices, fields, and mines. The modern school plant 
must have its shops and kitchens, its laboratory and 
library, its stage and moving-picture outfit, its play- 



302 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ground and garden, its swimming-pool and gymnasium, 
but a school plant without a study-room would be an 
educational monstros ty. What goes on in the study- 
room is a matter of supreme importance. How effi- 
ciently books and materials are used there is a factor of 
vital concern in the success of the recitation lesson. 
What motives direct the study there is full of significance 
for the future of the pupils. What working habits are 
formed there will modify conduct and permanently shape 
character. Habits of study are formed, just as other 
valuable habits are formed, by a will to work and by 
practice under intelligent direction and supervision. 

Superintendents and teachers are realizing more and 
more the cause-and-effect relation that exists between 
supervised study-lessons and effective recitation lessons. 
It is recognized that pupils must be taught how to study, 
how to use text-books, dictionary, maps, reference works, 
magazines, and newspapers as a means of gaining infor- 
mation, gathering data, sifting opinions, and forming ra- 
tional conclusions. In a later chapter the subject of 
supervised study is fully discussed. Here we are em- 
phasizing its importance as one of the means of improv- 
ing the recitation lesson. 

(4) By the Use of Projects. — "Project teaching" is a 
term which was first used in the teaching of agriculture, 
home economics, and manual training. It has been 
adopted by teachers of other subjects in both elementary 
and high schools, and there are some who advocate or- 
ganizing the entire curriculum around the "project" and 
teaching all subjects by the so-called "project-method." 

(a) Definition of "Project" as Applied to Teaching. — 
A project has been defined as a "unit of purposeful ex- 
perience"; as "a clear-cut, intellectual grasp of a whole 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION-LESSON 303 

complex situation"; as "an act carried to completion in 
its natural setting and involving the solution of a rela- 
tively complex problem"; as "a whole-hearted purpose- 
ful activity proceeding in a social environment"; as "a 
life topic in which the processes and objects of learning 
are largely manual"; as u a problematic act carried to 
completion in its natural setting." 

Perhaps the most illuminating definition of the project 
is that of W. H. Kilpatrick: "A project is any unit of 
experience dominated by such a purpose as sets an aim 
for the experience, guides its process, and furnishes the 
drive for its vigorous prosecution." 

(b) Types of Projects. — School projects may be indi- 
vidual or co-operative, simple or complex, major or 
minor; they may deal with problems of the home, the 
field, the shop; they may be confined to one subject, 
such as geography, reading, arithmetic, or they may in- 
clude a cross-section of many subjects. 

According to Kilpatrick, there are four types of proj- 
ects, based upon the nature of the purposeful activity 
which serves as the project: (i) experiences in which the 
dominating purpose is to do, to make, or to effect — to 
embody an idea or aspiration in natural form; (2) the 
purposeful enjoyment or appropriation of an experience; 
(3) experiences in which the dominating purpose is to 
solve a problem — unravel an intellectual difficulty; (4) 
experiences where the dominating purpose is to acquire 
some item or degree of knowledge or skill — specific drill 
with a purpose or attitude to master it. 

(c) Characteristics of a Good Project. — The marks of a 
good school project are: (1) it must appeal to the class 
as a purposeful activity; (2) it must teach some valuable 
lesson; (3) it must present a definite problem to be solved 



304 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

as nearly as possible in its natural setting; (4) it must 
utilize the purposes, interests, and already acquired 
knowledge of the pupils; (5) as the work proceeds it must 
be possible to check results and modify plans; (6) it 
must lead on to other related projects. 

(d) Method of Teaching a Project. — As outlined in Bul- 
letin 346 of the United States Department of Agriculture 
for 191 6, the method of teaching a "home project" in 
agriculture must provide for: (1) work at home covering 
a season or a more or less extended period of time; (2) it 
must be a part of the instruction in agriculture of the 
school; (3) there must be a problem more or less new to 
the pupil; (4) the parents and pupils should agree with 
the teacher upon the plan; (5) some competent person 
must supervise the home work; (6) detailed records of 
time, method, cost, and income must be honestly kept; 
(7) a written report based on the record must be sub- 
mitted to the teacher. 

Other suggestions for teaching a project are: (1) the 
class and the teacher select the project and outline a plan 
for working it out; (2) organize the class into working 
groups with officers, committees, and leaders; (3) cover 
the essentials of the text-book, but not page by page, 
and omit non-essential matter; (4) supplement the text- 
book by the use of reference books, bulletins, magazines, 
newspapers, reports, local community records, and pu- 
pils' out-of-school experiences; (5) follow the pedagogical 
order of teaching in the lower grades rather than the 
logical order; (6) provide for class discussions, debates, 
reports, and experiments; (7) encourage questions, indi- 
vidual sub-projects, research work, and the verification 
of results; (8) copy outlines and important data in note- 
books; (9) call for reviews and motivated drill exercises; 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 305 

(10) agree upon a minimum amount of work for all pupils 
in the class; (n) keep the aims, purposes, plan, and the 
discovery and application of principles constantly in 
mind; (12) just as far as possible the teacher is to sub- 
ordinate his own activities, direction, control, and opin- 
ions to those of the class or group. 

(e) Advantages of Project-teaching. — The advantages 
claimed for project-teaching are that it makes the pupil 
an active investigator and discoverer instead of a passive 
fact-receiver; creates enthusiasm for study and original 
research; forms habits of gathering data from many 
sources; gives skill in the ability to sift knowledge; pro- 
vides a natural setting and a compelling inner motiva- 
tion for school work; cultivates in pupils a sense of re- 
sponsibility for the success and progress of the work of 
the class; appeals throughout to the comparing, judging, 
and reasoning activities rather than to memory; empha- 
sizes the element of purpose and definite aim in all school 
activities; results in greater freedom and a more demo- 
cratic spirit in the class-room; adapts the work of the 
school to the individual needs and differences of pupils; 
develops skill in mastering essential processes with the 
minimum of drill; kindles a desire to explore the subject 
further; trains pupils in effective team-work; assists 
learners to state their opinions convincingly arid courte- 
ously; encourages open-mindedness and independent 
thought; unifies the school life of the pupil with his out- 
of-school interests and activities; enables pupils to sub- 
ordinate the mastery of the formal studies to the mean- 
ing of content studies; prevents disorder caused by lack 
of interest and divided attention; stimulates interest in 
current history and literature; inspires pupils to formu- 
late problems and to work them out intelligently; and 



306 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

serves as the most effective means of modifying conduct 
and shaping character. 

(/") Dangers of Project-teaching. — That there are many 
pitfalls and dangers in the use of the project is obvious. 
There is: (i) the danger of its adoption as a mere form, 
fad, or new device; (2) the danger of "soft pedagogy," 
"just turning pupils loose/' which assumes that the 
child should never be made to do anything he does not 
want to do and must be free to follow his native im- 
pulses, instincts, moods, and whims without "let or hin- 
drance"; (3) the danger that the work of the school will 
tend not to counteract but to repeat and re-enforce the 
worst tendencies of community and home life, such as 
the growing indifference to regular effort, the loosening 
of home ties, and the weakening of authority of parents, 
the shirking of serious preparation for life-work, the in- 
creasing love of entertainment and excitement, the 
wrong attitude toward work, and the lowering of indi- 
vidual moral standards of conduct; (4) the danger of 
failing entirely to teach the mastery of the essential tools 
of the race, fashioned for preserving and advancing social 
progress, known as the "common branches"; (5) the 
danger of breaking up the organization and continuity of 
the subject-matter of the course of study, and attempting 
to teach a hodge-podge of "pupil-selected" projects of 
very little educational value, omitting drill, making a 
farce or a tragedy of "original discovery of principles," 
and permitting the recitation lesson to degenerate into a 
babble of fruitless talk; (6) the danger of limiting all 
school work to constructive activities, dealing with con- 
crete materials alone, and arresting the development of 
all the higher forms of thought, feeling, and aspiration; 
(7) the danger of fostering the habits of desultory read- 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 307 

ing, waste of time on petty details, shirking real study 
and letting a few leaders carry the work, lack of super- 
vision of home work, no discovery of thought relations, 
and no intelligent application of principles. 

From all this it is quite apparent that the adoption of 
"project- teaching" and committing it to the hands of 
teachers who are incompetent to use the recitation lesson 
effectively would not solve any of our problems of in- 
struction. Method and subject-matter are made con- 
crete and effective in the process of instruction only 
when incarnated in the teacher who knows how to 
teach. 

The use of the project in teaching is not a substitute 
for classes, lesson assignments, study lessons, and recita- 
tion lessons. The project serves as an important means 
of improving the recitation lesson just in the degree in 
which project-teaching emphasizes large lesson-units, 
and thus binds in closer connection the separate lessons 
that constitute a series, brings into greater clearness and 
prominence the aims to be attained in each lesson and 
in each series of lessons, motivates school work by relat- 
ing it more effectively to the activities and interests of 
the home and the civic, industrial, and social life of the 
community, and provides for active social co-operation 
in class work. 

With better-trained teachers who are competent to 
use all the means at hand for improving the efficiency of 
the recitation lesson, such as the motivation of school 
work, the socializing of class-room activities, supervised 
study, the wise use of projects in teaching, the approved 
methods of testing and measuring results, the proper use 
of text-books, the judicious correlation of the construc- 
tive and vocational work of pupils with their other les- 



308 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

sons, and the ability to measure " individual differences" 
and to adapt instruction to the needs of pupils as revealed 
by the use of intelligence tests, the recitation lesson be- 
comes an ideal setting for the teaching-learning process. 

How Teachers May Realize the Aims of the Recita- 
tion Lesson. — Young teachers should thoroughly master 
the aims of the recitation lesson and should seek to uti- 
lize all the means suggested in this chapter for improv- 
ing class-room teaching. At first the realization of these 
aims and the application of the right means of improv- 
ing recitation lessons must be deliberately planned and 
consciously made. With the increasing power and skill 
which such intelligent practice gives, the teacher will 
find that he can easily, almost unconsciously, apply the 
right principle in meeting any teaching situation, and 
will reap an abundant reward for all his painstaking 
effort at first. 

It is folly to expect to become a master teacher unless 
we work under the inspiration of correct and definite 
aims and wise direction and supervision. No one be- 
comes a good teacher by merely teaching, nor are good 
recitations a matter of chance. There are certain condi- 
tions that must be met, certain principles that must be 
intelligently applied, certain prerequisites that are essen- 
tials. 

Prerequisites of a Successful Recitation Lesson. — As- 
suming that the teacher's general preparation is what it 
ought to be, and that pupils are sufficiently advanced to 
master lessons assigned from text-books, there are four 
prerequisites to a successful recitation lesson. 

(i) The teacher's preparation of the lesson; (2) the 
proper assignment of the lesson and watchful supervision 
of the pupil's seat work; (3) the pupil's preparation of 



IMPROVING THE RECITATION LESSON 309 

the lesson; (4) comfortable, quiet, and healthful sur- 
roundings and necessary study helps. 

The last one of these topics has been discussed in the 
chapter, "The School-room as a Factor in Organization." 
The other prerequisites now demand our attention. 

SUGGESTED HEADINGS 

Stevenson, "The Project Method of Teaching"; C. A. Mc- 
Murry, "Teaching by Projects," chap. I; Wilson and Wilson, 
"The Motivation of School Work"; F. M. McMurry, "Ele- 
mentary School Standards," chaps. V, VI, VII; Hall-Quest, 
"Supervised Study," chaps. I, II, III, IV; Stockton, "Proj- 
ect Work in Education," Part I; Freeland, "Modern Elemen- 
tary School Practice," chaps. II, III, IV, XVI; Bonser, "The 
Elementary School Curriculum," chaps. VI, VII; Whitney, 
"The Socialized Recitation "; Robbins, "Socialized Recitations"; 
Weeks, "Socializing the Three R's." 



CHAPTER XXI 
THE TEACHER'S PREPARATION OF THE LESSOIf-PROJECT 

The Dead-line. — The teacher who has ceased to grow 
has crossed the dead-line, and begins to die at the top. 
No matter how complete the preparation for teaching 
may have been, the teacher at work must acquire the 
habit of daily study. In no other way will growth as a 
teacher be possible. The teacher who has ceased to be 
an active student has lost the secret of his greatest power. 
With most young teachers this study will take the form 
of daily preparation of the lessons to be taught. Such 
study is a sure means of growth. 

The Teacher Should Be Independent of the Text- 
Book in the Class-room. — Any teacher who expects his 
pupils to be independent of the text-book during the 
recitation surely ought to be independent of the book 
himself. "Going thus to his class/' says Mr. Page, "so 
full of the subject that were the text-book annihilated he 
could make another and better one, he will have no diffi- 
culty to secure attention." It is a very common thing 
to hear teachers with open text-books in their hands, 
teachers who could not possibly recite the lesson them- 
selves, berate their pupils for their dulness and lack of 
preparation. This does not appear to the average boy 
or girl to be either fair or honest. 

Why Teaching Is a Mode of Learning. — Frequently 
young teachers assert that they never really understood 
certain branches of study until they had to teach them. 
Other teachers say that they actually learned more of the 

310 



PREPARATION OF THE LESSON-PROJECT 311 

branches that they taught their first term than they had 
learned in any one term as students. There is a great 
deal of truth in these statements. Teaching and study 
react upon each other. The effort to make a point clear 
to others helps the teacher to see it more clearly himself. 
It has been said that knowledge, stored away, spoils; 
shared with others, it increases. Sir William Hamilton 
says: "Teaching, like the quality of mercy, is twice 
blessed, blessing hrm that gives and him that takes." 
And a wise Jewish teacher once declared: "I have learned 
much from my master, more from my equals, but most 
of all from my pupils." 

How to Study a Lesson to Teach It Well. — To study a 
lesson is not merely to memorize its words. The words 
are important, but they are important only as they are 
signs of ideas, symbols of thought. In the study of a 
lesson every important word should be considered; new 
words should be looked up in the dictionary; the key- 
thought in every sentence should be mastered, and the 
meaning of every paragraph should be understood. But 
any teacher or pupil who masters the thoughts in the 
lesson in this way ought to be able to clothe these 
thoughts in his own words. Some further suggestions 
may not be out of place here. 

(i) The teacher should study every lesson, not as an 
isolated topic, but as connected with all other lessons in 
the same subject. Pupils often study blindly. Even 
where they are able to see the relation of the lesson in 
hand to those lessons which have preceded it, they are 
wholly ignorant of its relation to the next topic or les- 
sons, and do not realize that the mastery of to-day's les- 
son is absolutely necessary to the conquest of the lessons 
of the future. But the teacher has been over the subject 



312 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

before. He has a view of the whole field, and is able to 
study each lesson in the light of its relation to all the les- 
sons that have preceded it as well as to all the lessons 
that are to follow it in the same subject or in kindred 
ones. This is an immense advantage, and the teacher 
who is ignorant of this difference between his own study 
of the lesson and that of his pupils will do them a con- 
stant and a great injustice. 

(2) The teacher must have a plan of study. In every 
lesson there are certain essential facts or truths — essen- 
tial in the sense that they are important in themselves 
or are necessary to future progress in the subject. The 
teacher must sift out these essential truths and fix them 
clearly in his own mind. Many teachers give time 
enough to daily preparation of lessons, and yet they are 
never really prepared. They are tied to the book in the 
recitation. The reason for this is easy to understand. 
They have no study plan. They merely read the lesson 
over and over as a whole. They do not look for what is 
fundamental in the lesson. Trying to put equal empha- 
sis on all parts of it, they emphasize nothing, and there- 
fore remember nothing clearly. Such study becomes 
more and more mechanical and is a great cause of the 
indefinite and hazy knowledge of most pupils. The 
teacher should write out a sketch of the lesson in the 
form of an outline. The main heads in this outline 
should be the fundamental truths which he proposes to 
teach to his class. He may use these notes in his class 
at first as an aid in emancipating him from slavish de- 
pendence upon the text-book. But very soon he should 
fix these main truths so firmly in his mind that he can 
teach the lesson without referring to the notes. Of 
course these notes should be concise and logically ar- 



PREPARATION OF THE LESSON-PROJECT 313 

ranged. They should suggest the train of ideas in the 
lesson. The main topics may be stated in the form of 
questions, but the class questions, as a rule, should be 
framed in the recitation to meet the needs of individual 
pupils. 

There is a great deal more in every lesson than the 
teacher can hope to teach. No teacher ought to expect 
to teach a class all he knows about the lesson. He must 
separate very clearly in his own mind what he knows 
of the lesson from what he proposes to cause his pupils 
to know. He should always keep in mind the bearing of 
each lesson upon the lessons that are to follow in the 
same subject, and also its connection with the other 
studies that the pupils are pursuing. 

(3) In the study of the lesson the teacher should keep 
before his mind an image of the class, not as a whole, a 
mere mass of boys and girls, but as individuals. How 
to help this pupil to see the meaning of some part of the 
lesson; how to illustrate some hard point for that one; 
what questions to ask a third; what fact or principle to 
emphasize for a fourth; how to use the special knowledge 
or interest of any pupil for the benefit of the whole class 
— these problems must be vividly in the teacher's mind 
as he prepares his lesson. 

(4) All material for illustrations or experiments in the 
recitation, and all necessary apparatus, reference books, 
maps, and charts, should be kept in mind in the teacher's 
preparation of the lesson. What to use as helps in 
teaching the lesson, where to use them, how to use them 
to the best advantage are questions to be considered be- 
fore the recitation. To have all such helps close at hand 
and ready when needed in the class work is the sure 
mark of a carefully planned lesson. 



314 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(5) In making his daily preparation of the lesson, 
the teacher should provide for a review of what has 
been taught and a pre-view of what is to come next. 
Whether the mastery of one lesson shall help the pupil 
to master the next one more easily depends upon the 
care and skill of the teacher. For every pupil the 
study of each lesson ought to be either the application 
of old principles to new subject-matter or the discov- 
ery of new truths by means of old truths already mas- 
tered. This is the only kind of study that is really 
educative. 

When to Study the Lesson to Teach It. — Most teachers 
fail to realize how important it is to study the lesson 
before assigning it. They assign lessons before prepar- 
ing them, and hence work at a constant disadvantage. 
Their lesson study is barren and unfruitful. No mere 
cursory glance ahead at the close of a recitation is suffi- 
cient preparation to enable the teacher to assign the 
next lesson intelligently, yet the careful assignment of 
the lesson is absolutely essential in order to secure faith- 
ful or even decent preparation by the pupils. For the 
pupil the order of steps is: (1) The pre-view of the les- 
son; (2) the study of the lesson; (3) the recitation of the 
lesson. But for the teacher the logical order is: (1) The 
selection and preparation of the lesson; (2) the assign- 
ment of the lesson; (3) the review of the lesson; (4) the 
teaching of the lesson. And it is no more illogical or 
foolish for a pupil to attempt to recite a lesson before 
studying it than it is for a teacher to attempt to assign 
a lesson before preparing it, at least in its general outline. 
If teachers would only get one day ahead in the prep- 
aration of their lessons it would more than double their 
efficiency in the recitation. 



PREPARATION OF THE LESSON-PROJECT 315 

How Daily Study Aids in Assigning the Lesson. — Let 
us consider some of the ways in which teachers would be 
aided by faithfully planning and preparing the lesson be- 
fore assigning it. 

(i) They would know what to assign. The amount to 
be assigned ought not to be mere guesswork, nor ought 
it to be gauged by pages or topics or cut-and-dried 
courses of study. Very often unexpected difficulties 
arise in the lesson as we prepare it — difficulties that we 
did not suspect when we assigned it. These difficulties 
may absolutely block the pupil's progress in his study of 
the lesson. Then, again, many teachers rarely finish the 
advanced lesson in the recitation, consequently their pu- 
pils never take the assignment of the lesson very seri- 
ously. 

(2) The teacher can emphasize the main points in the 
new lesson and prepare pupils for intelligent study. Un- 
less pupils master the art of intelligent study, the greater 
part of their time in school is wasted, and they acquire 
a distaste for books in general. One of the most im- 
portant reforms in our elementary schools is the emphasis 
that good teachers everywhere are placing on silent 
reading. How inefficiently we have been teaching pupils 
to read is abundantly proved by the astonishing number 
of our "half -illiterates" — pupils who never really mas- 
tered the art of reading sufficiently well to get any 
pleasure out of what they read; pupils who always "move 
their lips" when they read to themselves; pupils who 
never make any consistent use of reading to continue 
their education after they leave school, and soon lose 
through disuse what little skill in reading they had ac- 
quired. Every properly assigned lesson is a safeguard 
against such educational inefficiency. The teacher 



316 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

can state the central thought, or aim, of the lesson, and 
direct pupils where to concentrate their efforts, where to 
look for difficulties, and how to overcome them. The 
pupils are forewarned and therefore forearmed. 

(3) Great efforts have been made in the last few years 
to put a library into every school. Of what value will all 
this effort and expense be unless pupils learn to use the 
library intelligently? Only those teachers who prepare 
their lessons before assigning them can help pupils to use 
the library to the best advantage. As the wise teacher 
prepares his lessons he notes the library references that 
will be most helpful to the pupils. When he assigns the 
lesson he asks the class, or certain members of the class, 
to read a reference in some library book and report in the 
next recitation. Pupils, too, who learn easily can be 
given extra work in this way. All such references should 
be very definite, giving the book and the exact chapter 
or pages to be read. 

(4) Having so recently gone over the lesson carefully 
himself, the teacher is able to give his pupils valuable 
hints and suggestions that will stimulate them to earnest 
study. Pupils rarely know how to attack the new lesson 
unless they receive help from the teacher. They really 
never get into the lesson; just blunder around it. There 
is a tremendous amount of misapplied energy in our 
schools, besides no end of "puttering," wool-gathering, 
dawdling, laziness, mischief, and meanness, all caused by 
the lack of care and foresight on the part of teachers in 
assigning lessons. Frequently a few hints or suggestions 
would put pupils on the right track at once and secure 
earnest endeavor to master the lesson. It may be wise to 
ask pupils to review some previous lesson connected with 
the one to be assigned, to think over some experience out- 



PREPARATION OF THE LESSON-PROJECT 317 

side the school, to ask their parents concerning some local 
facts, to refer to some other text-book than the one in use 
for a better treatment of a topic, to look up new terms in 
the dictionary, to bring to the class some material for 
illustrative work, to draw certain figures or charts, or to 
examine some object, place, or phenomenon outside the 
school-house. 

(5) Only by being in close touch with the lesson before 
it is assigned can the teacher hold before the class a reason- 
able and consistent standard of work in preparing their 
lessons. The lessons of the pupils all taken together 
should require a uniform amount of effort each day. 
Spasmodic work is not educative in the best sense. Sup- 
pose a pupil to have five lessons to prepare every day; 
the teacher should assign each of these lessons in view of 
the other four; and taken all together, they should make 
a task which the pupils can reasonably be expected to 
master. In no other way will pupils learn the great lesson 
of feeling personally responsible for preparing every lesson 
assigned. 

How Daily Study Aids the Teaching of the Lesson. — In 
the teaching of the lesson the rewards of careful daily 
study are immediately apparent. 

(1) Being reasonably independent of the text-book, the 
teacher is left free to give all his mind and energy to the 
work of teaching. As he teaches, his eyes are free to 
observe his class and his thought is not so much fixed on 
the subject-matter of the lesson as on the mental processes 
of the pupils. Seeing the faces of his pupils the teacher 
can judge correctly of the class progress. He knows when 
a point has been mastered. He quickly detects any lagging 
of interest and wins it back by an apt illustration. He 
observes the special difficulties of individual pupils and 



318 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOI 

restates the obscure point. In this way he checks the 
forward, encourages the timid, calls back the inattentive, 
and puts new life into the discouraged. 

(2) The teacher can become a skilful and ready ques- 
tioner. As long as the teacher is tied to the text-book he 
has no freedom in questioning. His questions are bookish 
and do not grow out of the pupil's answers and immediate 
needs. There is little adaptation to individuals and no 
life or enthusiasm. But where the teacher's preparation 
is full and fresh all these hindrances are swept away. The 
questions grow naturally out of the pupil's needs, are well 
distributed, require careful thought, and are a constant 
spur to interest and attention and a perfect curb to any 
tendency to disorder. 

(3) No time is lost in attempting to recover from the 
effects of a wrong assignment of the lesson and consequent 
lack of preparation by the class. No apologies need be 
made, no excuses offered. Occasions for irritation and 
fault-finding are reduced to the minimum. No time of the 
recitation is lost in attempting experiments that won't 
work, hunting up globes and charts that may be wanted, 
or sending pupils to other rooms to borrow maps and 
apparatus. 

In conclusion, the teacher who wisely and faithfully 
prepares his daily lessons and who does not run the risk 
of assigning his lesson without careful planning will not 
be put to shame before his pupils by being unable to an- 
swer their questions in the recitation or to decide class 
discussions correctly. He will not often have to confess 
his ignorance or pretend to know what he does not know. 
In fact, so essential is this daily study of the lesson, this 
fresh knowledge of the subject, that without it the recita- 
tion does not deserve the name of an educative process at 



PREPARATION OF THE LESSON-PROJECT 319 

all. Without such daily planning and preparation the 
teacher must fail to keep the school wisely and profitably 
employed. Poor order, rebellion, loss of time, shiftless 
habits, and anarchy are the sure results in the school; and 
to the teacher, worry, loss of temper, injury to health, and 
the consciousness of failure. 

Bagley says: "Every lesson that is to be taught should 
be worked out beforehand. The best manner of approach- 
ing the lesson should be determined, and questions framed 
that will prepare the class for the new material. Illustra- 
tions should be sought from all possible sources, worked 
over, and adapted to the age and mental attainments of the 
pupils. At the beginning, the teacher would do well to 
write out carefully the plan of each lesson, including the 
specific questions and explanations, and to rehearse the 
whole before an imaginary class. This is a strenuous 
programme, but it will return large dividends upon the 
time and energy invested. In addition to work of this 
nature, one should reflect carefully upon the order in 
which pupils are to be called upon for recitation and adapt 
questions and topics to the peculiarities of individual 
children. Finally, the independent work of the pupils 
during the study periods should be planned and the neces- 
sary materials provided." 

Such faithful, painstaking preparation brings its own 
rich reward in the daily consciousness of growth in power 
and usefulness, in the respect of the community and the 
love of the pupils, in freedom from loss of nervous force 
expended in "governing the school," and in the absolute 
certainty that an abundant harvest will follow such 
sowing. 



320 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 



SUGGESTED READINGS 

White, "The Art of Teaching," pp. 105-112; Hamilton, 
"The Recitation," chap. IV; Dutton, "School Management," 
pp. 249-275; Branom, "The Project Method in Education," 
chap. XII; Whipple, "How to Study Effectively"; Sandwick, 
"How to Study," Part I; Hall-Quest, "The Text-Book," chaps. 
V, IX. 



CHAPTER XXII 
PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 

Meaning. — To assign a text-book lesson properly is to 
set a definite problem before a class to be solved and to 
give them sufficient motives and helps to solve it. It is 
pointing out a goal to be reached, an ideal to be realized. 
It should be a spur to interest, a challenge to effort, and 
a guide to thought. 

"To assign a lesson," says Roark, "is to designate a 
more or less definite portion of subject-matter to be ac- 
quired, assimilated, and put into some form of expres- 
sion." Other suggestive terms for lesson assignment are 
the preliminary drill, the pre-view of the next lesson, or 
the pre-survey of the lesson. 

What the Teacher Assumes in Assigning a Lesson.— 
(i) When a teacher assigns a lesson to a class to be 
learned from a text-book, he assumes that all the mem- 
bers of the class are able to use that particular text-book 
intelligently, to understand its words, to grasp its thought 
and meaning, to comprehend its ideas by interpreting 
them through their relation to their own previous knowl- 
edge and experiences. It is never an honest performance 
to set pupils an impossible task. In nearly all classes the 
teacher will find pupils who have never been taught to 
use a dictionary, an index, or a table of contents. Very 
few text-books are exactly adapted to the class. Some 
parts of the book should be omitted, and it should always 
be supplemented by outside references. 

321 



322 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

(2) The teacher assumes that each pupil has the time, 
health, strength, the necessary means, and a favorable 
opportunity to prepare the lesson as it is assigned. Unless 
these conditions exist it is little less than criminal to assign 
the lesson. If one or more pupils in the class cannot study 
the lesson intelligently because of lack of previous prepara- 
tion, they should be reclassified or receive individual help. 
If the text-book is not a suitable one for the class it should 
be discarded. If the pupils are weak, sick, or over- 
burdened with work, they should be excused from the 
preparation, or at least a part of it. If the school-room 
conditions are not favorable to study, the order poor, the 
ventilation bad, the teacher should use his utmost en- 
deavors to make them better. 

(3) It should be assumed that the teacher has mastered 
the course of study sufficiently well to know how to plan 
the work of the year or the term to the best advantage, how 
to divide the subject-matter into "method-units'' and 
"lesson-units." Unless the teacher is able to do this, there 
is no assurance that the work and progress of the pupils 
will be reasonably uniform throughout the month, term, 
or year, and that the different subjects and lessons will be 
properly correlated. The lesson assignment for one day 
will be too long, the next day, too short; too hard to-day, 
too easy to-morrow. This is what Arnold Tompkins 
meant when he said: "For practical purposes the whole 
course of study must be worked out in quite minute de- 
tails. No matter if a teacher teach but a single grade, that 
work cannot be done intelligently without a sense of its 
organic relation to the whole." At the first of the year 
the lessons should be considerably shorter than the average, 
and much attention given to review. 

(4) It should always be assumed in all honesty that the 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 323 

teacher has made special preparation for assigning the 
lesson; has measured the lesson carefully, not by the 
standard of pages or chapters or number of problems, 
but by the amount of thinking and mental energy and 
time required for its preparation; has formed a plan 
of study for the class that is reasonable, helpful, and 
suggestive. 

(5) That pupils will be held rigidly responsible for the 
work assigned is also assumed. To assign a lesson and 
not to demand aa accounting of pupils for the work as- 
signed is worse than a waste of time and a violation of 
sound pedagogy. It is an immoral act; for it is a species 
of deception, a mere pretence, and a standing encourage- 
ment to pupils to shirk their duty. It destroys the pupil's 
sense of personal responsibility and leads to the formation 
of habits of idleness and disobedience. Page says: "Now 
the effect of learning a lesson poorly is most ruinous to the 
mind of the child. He, by the habit of missing, comes to 
think it a small thing to fail at recitation. He loses his 
self-respect He loses all regard for his reputatiom as a 
scholar. It is deplorable to see a child fail in a lesson with 
indifference." 

Assigning Lessons a Test of a Teacher's Ability.— -"Few 
teachers realize," says White, "how fine a test of teaching 
ability and success is the manner in which lessons, and 
especially book lessons, are assigned. A very good judg- 
ment of a teacher's work may be often based on this 
simple test. 'Take the next chapter; class dismissed/ 
is sufficient ground for dismissing a teacher from further 
consideration if one is looking for a first-class instructor." 

(1) To assign a lesson properly the teacher must know 
not only the subject, the book, and the lesson, but also the 
sequence of topics and lesson-units, as well as their con- 



324 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

nection and correlation with lessons in other subjects 
which the pupil must prepare. He must be able to select 
the essential facts in the lesson from the non-essentials and 
to direct the pupil's effort to the mastery of the leading 
concepts and principles. 

(2) The teacher must be in such close touch with his 
pupils as individuals as to know something of their previous 
experiences; their out-of-school life; their leading inter- 
ests, emotions, and ambitions; their games, favorite books, 
and home occupations. 

(3) The proper assignment of the lesson requires of the 
teacher sufficient insight to see that the subject-matter 
of the daily lessons is only a means by which each pupil in 
the class finds the realization of his unfolding inner life, 
his intellectual aspirations, his best impulses, his aesthetic 
and moral emotions. Every lesson should be assigned so 
as to afford the pupil an opportunity to develop some power, 
to satisfy some desire for truth, to realize some hope, ideal, 
or aspiration. 

(4) According to Salisbury, the teacher, in order to 
assign a lesson well, must meet these conditions: (a) He 
must be conscious of the general aim of each particular 
study or branch — the reason why it should be taught at all; 
(b) he must have a distinct recognition of the particular 
aim of the given lesson, the reasons for teaching it, and the 
definite result which should follow; (c) he must clearly 
apprehend just what mental steps or processes are neces- 
sary on the part of the pupil before he can realize the 
definite result aimed at; (d) he must understand just what 
foundation the pupil has to build upon, what mental pos- 
sessions he has that are related to the new topic; (e) he 
must base his plan of instruction, aims, and method upon 
the fundamental laws of mind. 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 325 

Importance and Value of Good Lesson Assignment. — 

From the foregoing considerations it is clear that no other 
part of the teacher's work exceeds in value and importance 
the proper planning and assignment of the daily lessons. 
It is supplying the class and the school with a definite plan 
of work. It is preparing the mind of each individual pupil 
for the reception of new truths and whetting his intellectual 
appetite for a feast of good things. It inspires confidence 
by pointing out to the pupil just how he can use his past 
lessons and acquisitions to make new conquests. It pre- 
vents pupils from misunderstanding the lesson or approach- 
ing it with indifference or positive aversion. Tt enables 
the pupil to approach the new lesson in an apperceiving 
mood, and helps pupils to form the habit of being success- 
ful in their work and of making a daily application of their 
old knowledge. It prevents the teacher from degenerating 
into a mere talker, and, where text-books are used, should 
be the most vital part of the recitation. Bagley says: 
" Opponents of elaborate assignments tell us that the pupil 
gains strength by overcoming difficulties, and that he 
should attack the printed page without help and get out 
of it what he can. . . . The natural result is that the 
teacher who does not teach in the assignment is forced to 
teach in the recitation." 

Principles Governing the Assignment of Lessons.- — (i) 
The lesson should be assigned in such a way as to appeal 
to the child's instincts and emotions. Few teachers realize 
how rich and varied the child's emotional nature really is,, 
and fewer still realize that all the child's incentives to 
effort must spring out of his instincts and feelings. When 
children are constantly being forced to think and to study, 
there is something wrong; for the normal child's natural 
hunger for ideas is as instinctive as his hunger for food. 



326 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

The instincts of ownership, collecting, imitation, activity, 
construction, co-operation, mastery may all be brought 
into the service of the school by the wise teacher. Interest, 
curiosity, expectation, eagerness, hope, desire to know, 
wonder, surprise, perplexity, doubt, mystery, belief are all 
intellectual emotions, and may become strong incentives 
to study if the teacher has the skill to appeal to them aright. 
And besides all these, there are the moral and aesthetic 
emotions, such as the love of beauty, symmetry, and 
harmony, the sense of right, duty, obligation, all of which 
the teacher may make his allies. Even the egoistic 
emotions of pride, emulation, ambition, and love of appro- 
bation may be drafted into service where individual pupils 
cannot be reached by other means. Poor, indeed, must that 
lesson be if it cannot be made to appeal to some of these 
instincts and emotions, and unskilled the teacher who can- 
not assign the new lesson in such a way as to arouse in the 
pupil a definite interest, an active curiosity, a real desire 
to know more about it. 

(2) The lesson as assigned must challenge the child's 
power to think. Feeling, interest, curiosity must be sup- 
plemented and made productive by intellect The desire 
to know must be more than a mere impulse or a vague, 
indefinite, hazy, or temporary incentive. It must be a 
longing to know plus a distinct idea of what to know; 
hence the need of a clear statement of the aim and purpose 
of the new lesson. The pupil's desire to realize the aim 
must be a real and conscious need, a felt want that suggests 
certain definite efforts to satisfy it Thinking is comparing 
objects or ideas, noting their likenesses and differences, and 
classifying them according to certain selected qualities. 
The subject-matter of every lesson contains objects whose 
qualities are to be noted, compared, arranged, or ideas 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 327 

which are connected by thought relations. To discover 
these qualities and thought relations is to think the lesson. 
Some of the most common thought relations are similarity? 
difference, identity, subordination, exclusion, whole and 
parts, time, space, quantity, number, position, design, 
cause and effect. The search for these thought relations 
has all the interest of a puzzle. And the mind is so con- 
stituted that the discovery of these relations gives intellect- 
ual pleasure. Thus successful study is the oil that con- 
stantly, mysteriously feeds the lamp of interest. To make 
a new application of Spencer's thought, the final test by 
which to judge of the merit of any lesson assignment is: 
" Does it create a pleasurable excitement in the pupils" as 
they study the lesson according to its directions ? As Mr. 
Spencer so strongly puts it: "Children should be led to 
make their own investigations and to draw their own 
inferences. They should be told as little as possible and 
induced to discover as much as possible. ... If the sub- 
jects are put before him in right order and right form, any 
pupil of ordinary capacity will surmount his successive 
difficulties with but little assistance. . . . This need of 
perpetual telling is the result of our stupidity, not of the 
child's. . . . Having by our method induced helplessness, 
we straightway make the helplessness a reason for our 
method." 

(3) The assignment must persuade the pupil's will to 
make an aggressive attack upon the lesson. The pupil 
should feel eager to begin the task. He should approach 
the preparation of the lesson full of courage, confident 
of success, convinced that he can conquer it. The lesson 
as assigned must appeal to him as possible of accomplish- 
ment; difficult enough to call out his best powers, but not 
too difficult; long enough to call for sustained effort, yet 



328 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

not too long to be thoroughly mastered in the allot- 
ted time. The teacher should see to it that the pupils 
are given a fair chance to master the lesson assigned, 
He must remove from their pathway insurmountable 
obstacles or show the way around them, but he must 
not attempt to level all the rough places. He must warn 
pupils of ambuscades and dangers, but he must make 
them march and not carry them in ambulances. He 
must furnish proper assistance and provide necessary 
helps, but he must be careful not to cumber the pupil 
with crutches. 

(4) The lesson assignment should so appeal to the 
pupil's past experiences as to call up those ideas, and 
only those, that are most nearly related to the new ideas 
of the lesson. To understand his lesson as he studies it, 
the pupil must grasp the new ideas by means of his old 
related ones, compare the old with the new, abstract 
essential qualities and use such qualities as a basis of 
classification. In fact, this is the only way in which he 
can really study or think at all, for anything else is a 
sheer attempt to memorize words that are meaningless to 
him. The purpose of the recitation lesson is not to dis- 
count the pupil's efforts at independent study by requir- 
ing him to reproduce the lesson, but to suggest compari- 
sons, to clear up apprehensions, to strengthen the weak 
places, to discover new principles, to give opportunity for 
questions, discussion, reports, and illustrative work. 

It is clear that the nature of the lesson assignment will 
dominate the pupil's method of study and tend to de- 
termine his habits of thinking. There is no doubt that 
the careless, thoughtless, haphazard way in which les- 
sons are assigned is largely responsible for the average 
pupil's inefficiency in study. The ordinary method of 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 329 

assigning an arithmetic lesson is to give out so many 
problems to be solved. The result is that pupils simply 
read the rule with no comprehension of the principles on 
which it is based, look over the model solution in the 
book, and then try to work the other problems like it. 
"Doing sums" in this way is not studying arithmetic. 
It is at best only a shallow process of imitation utterly 
stultifying in its effects. Getting a lesson in history or 
geography, assigned by pages, is usually a still less in- 
telligent process, since there are no model solutions to 
imitate. 

(5) The lesson assignment, as far as possible, should 
be based on purposeful activities that represent large, 
live, and valuable projects. The value of well-selected 
projects as a means of preventing "aimless" lessons can- 
not be over-estimated. In history, for example, a com- 
paratively few important projects thoroughly marked out 
in a series of related lessons, using the text-book in history 
as a basis for the instruction and supplementing it with 
the use of other texts, current magazines, newspapers, and 
visits to historic places, if near by, are of far more value 
than a great number of petty topics connected, it may be, 
by chronology only. Why people in Europe left their 
homes to become colonists in America; How local in- 
stitutions grew up among the colonists; What causes 
tended to separation and jealousy among the different 
colonies; What influences tended to unite these col- 
onies in the United States; The reproduction of the 
Convention of 1787 that framed our Constitution; What 
theories of interpreting the Constitution grew up; How 
the present relations of State governments to the Na- 
tional government developed: these are examples of 
projects in history. Each of these projects contains 






330 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

material for many lessons. It will fix in the mind of 
pupils and teacher an important and definite goal to be 
reached, a big problem to be solved by co-operative 
effort. This big problem will include many smaller 
ones, and these smaller problems will constitute the aims 
of the series of lessons in which the project is worked 
out. Thus all the study and activities of the class are 
unified in a definite, organized, practical, rational, dy- 
namic forward movement under the leadership and in- 
spiration of the teacher. 

Steps in the Assignment of the Lesson. — As a rule the 
proper assignment of the lesson comprises several distinct 
steps, although these need not be taken in the same order 
in all lessons 

(i) Review Questioning.— -Since the pupil must use 
his old knowledge to interpret and understand the new 
lesson, it devolves upon the teacher to help him to call 
up those ideas in his possession that are most nearly 
related to the ideas in the lesson to be assigned. In 
calling up these related ideas the pupils must use the 
powers of memory, analysis, and oral expression. The 
teacher's instrument here is suggestive review questions. 
Some of these questions will quite naturally grow out of 
the preceding lessons, but they need not be confined to 
these lessons. They may cover a wide range of topics 
and deal with any experiences of the pupils, in school or 
out of it, that are closely related in thought to the new 
lesson. It is often the case that when a new topic is to be 
introduced, some local event, some great man's birthday, 
a coming holiday, a bit of news in the daily paper, an 
excursion to fields or woods, the erection of some near-by 
structure, some pupil's recent trip, a visit to a factory, a 
picture or a story may serve as the best starting-point for 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 331 

the line of questioning. One main object of these pre- 
paratory questions is to lead pupils up to the limit of their 
knowledge on the subject in hand in order that they may 
feel the need of further knowledge. The more clearly the 
pupil separates his old ideas from those new ones to be 
presented in the lesson, and the greater his desire to know 
more on the same subject, the better the introduction has 
been. The questions should be definite and fairly well 
distributed over the entire class. As soon as the properly 
related ideas have been secured from the class, they should 
be summarized and arranged so as to form the best possible 
natural introduction to the new lesson. It will be seen 
that this step in the assignment of the lesson constitutes 
the best possible review of previous lessons. 

(2) Stating the Aim. — The aim of the new lesson should 
be clearly stated. When the new lesson introduces a new 
topic, this step may well precede the review questioning, 
for here the statement of the aim seems necessary to give 
definite direction to the pupil's thinking. Dr. Rein says: 
" If the aim of the lesson has been rightly put, itj)roduces 
a flood of thoughts in the pupil at once, . . . To conduct 
a child along an unknown road, toward an unknown 
object by means of questions and hints, the purpose of 
which he does not see, to lead him on imperceptibly to an 
unknown goal, has the disadvantage that it develops 
neither a spontaneous mental activity nor a clear insight 
into the subject." It is taken for granted that the teacher 
has the aim clearly in mind. The need of having an aim 
in each recitation is just as important as it is in building a 
house or planning a journey. Aimless work is shiftless 
work. The teacher must state the aim of the lesson so 
clearly, definitely, and simply that each member of the 
class can fully grasp its meaning. 



332 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

The aim should be stated from the stand-point of the 
pupil rather than that of the teacher. Of course, the 
teacher should have in mind the larger aim of the whole 
topic, type, or method-unit, and must clearly understand 
the relation of each specific lesson aim to this larger aim, 
but the pupils must approach this larger aim step by step 
and lesson by lesson. They must toil up the mountain 
side before they can catch the full and splendid view from 
its summit and recognize the landmarks which they have 
passed in their ascent. In stating the aim, a set form of 
words should be avoided. As a rule, it is best to put the 
aim in the form of a problem, and it should always suggest 
some important thought relation. If there is danger that 
pupils will forget the aim as stated, they should write it 
out, or the teacher may write it on the board. 

The value of the aim is readily seen when it is realized 
that this aim is to be the pupil's guide in the preparation 
of his lesson at his seat or at his home, and that where a 
definite aim is lacking there is little will to work. The 
aim serves as a common meeting point for the minds of 
all the class and the teacher, and this unifies their thoughts 
and efforts in both the study lesson and the recitation 
lesson. It saves time and energy, secures definite work, 
prevents failure and discouragement, serves as a standard 
of value by which to judge all the means used to accom- 
plish it and to test every step of the pupil's learning and the 
teacher's teaching. To omit the aim is to invite failure, 
encourage poor preparation of the lesson, set a premium 
on idleness and the formation of shiftless habits, and pave 
the way for a disorderly school. 

(3) Removing Difficulties. — The teacher who has care- 
fully gauged the new lesson, prepared it, at least in its 
general outlines., and made out a definite plan of presenting 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 333 

it, is in a position to know what particular parts of the 
lesson will present the greatest difficulties for the pupil. 
In many lessons, even in the best text-books, there are 
old words used in a new sense, hidden generalizations, 
references to laws and facts of which pupils are abso- 
lutely ignorant, figures of speech, unusual and difficult con- 
structions, and obscure passages. If pupils are left to 
plunge into these difficulties unwarned and unassisted, only 
a few of the very brightest will succeed in floundering 
through the lesson. The rest will back out. The teacher 
should not withhold the proper help under the mistaken 
notion that pupils should be left to work out their own 
salvation unaided. Only the elect will be saved by such a 
process. Knowing the specific lesson and the class, the 
teacher should give such aid in removing the difficulties 
of the lesson as will enable the average pupil to prepare 
it well. The brightest pupils should be given some 
additional work and the slowest pupils should receive indi- 
vidual help. No pupil who has the spirit to work should 
be permitted to fail in the preparation of the lesson 
because of the inherent difficulties of the text-book. 

(4) Suggestions and Directions. — In the assignment of 
the lesson the teacher should distinguish very carefully 
between suggestions and directions. The difference be- 
tween them is the difference between may and must 
Suggestions are for the individual; directions are for the 
class. The individual pupil may not follow the sugges- 
tions of the teacher, and no offence is committed. He 
chooses for himself, does as he pleases. But no pupil is at 
liberty to disregard the directions of the teacher. If he 
directs that certain written work be handed in, failure to 
do so on the part of any pupil constitutes an act of diso- 
bedience for which he is to be held personally responsible 



334 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

But if the teacher suggests that certain references would 
be of value and interest if read in connection with the les- 
son, no personal responsibility for reading them is implied. 
Thus the teacher may make every recitation a means of 
cultivating the pupil's sense of personal responsibility and 
at the same time encourage individual choice, tastes, and 
preferences. Order, logical relation, and system are 
secured in the recitation by holding the pupils rigidly to 
the directions; while richness, variety, spontaneity, and 
voluntary effort are secured by the responses of individual 
pupils who have seized upon this or that bit of work 
suggested by the teacher. 

(5) Time for the Lesson Assignment. — The best time for 
assigning the lesson is usually at the close of the recitation, 
although until pupils have acquired some skill in the use 
of text-books the best time for making the assignment is 
just before the pupils begin their study of the lesson. The 
amount of time required for making the assignment varies 
greatly according to the subject, the class, and the lesson. 
Only the teacher in charge of the class can judge ration- 
ally of this matter, and superintendents should leave them 
as free as possible to follow their own judgment. 

(6) Oversight of the Pupil's Study. — No teacher should 
presume to think that his whole duty is done when the 
lesson has been properly assigned. He should see that 
the pupil works on his lesson. This requires careful and 
constant supervision of the pupil's seat work. No pupil 
should be permitted to fool away time in school under the 
mistaken notion that such time can be "made up" at 
recess or after school. The teacher who forms the habit 
of keeping pupils after school to make up lost time 
confesses his own incompetency. 

Throughout this discussion it has been assumed that the 



PROPER ASSIGNMENT OF LESSONS 335 

lessons assigned are text-book lessons, consequently parts 
of the chapter do not apply to oral lessons. But since 
text-books are so universally used in our American 
schools, it seems fair and necessary to-discuss the assign- 
ment of lessons from this stand-point; for there is no 
more important work of the teacher than the proper 
assignment of the lesson from the text-book. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Charters, "Teaching the Common Branches," chap. XVIII; 
Betts, "The Recitation," chap. V; Davis, "The Work of the 
Teacher," chap. VI; White, "Art of Teaching," pp. 126-128; Bag- 
ley, "Classroom Management," pp. 192-206; Earhart, "Types 
of Teaching," chap. VIII; Bender, "The Teacher at Work," 
pp. 17-19 and 59-62. 



CHAPTER XXIII 
THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 

The Study Lesson. — As we have shown in the preced- 
ing chapter, the recitation lesson and the study lesson 
are very closely related, are, in fact, where text-books 
are used, parts of the same process. The study lesson 
is a continuation of the work begun in the previous reci- 
tation when the lesson was assigned, and the next recita- 
tion is the completion of the work begun in the study 
lesson. If the seat work of the pupils is not well planned 
and wisely directed, their efforts to prepare the lesson 
are crippled and their time is wasted or misused ; and, on 
the other hand, if the following recitation is to be a suc- 
cess, pupils must be diligent in preparing the lesson as 
assigned by the teacher. It is conceded that teachers, 
as a rule, fail to realize this close connection between 
the recitation and the study lesson and fail equally to 
correlate them in their practice. For this reason we 
have placed great emphasis upon the proper assignment 
of the lesson. But, as we have shown, no teacher should 
imagine that his work with a class is ended as soon as 
he has assigned the next lesson and sent the pupils to 
their seats. He must see to it that the pupils set to 
work on the preparation of some lesson and keep at 
work during the time allotted for its study. No mere 
assignment of the lesson, no matter how carefully made, 
is sufficient to insure a good recitation. It is equally 
important to supervise the seat work of pupils. White 
says: "Both the family and the school assume that the 

336 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 337 

child needs something more than the self-impulsion of 
instinct, nature, and experience in mental activity and 
conduct; and so each provides him with the assistance 
of wider experience and knowledge and the help of per- 
sonal influence and control. The school recognizes that 
the child does not learn to think by mere thinking, but 
that he learns to think correctly by thinking under gui- 
dance." a The application of the pupil," saysBagley, "in 
the period of seat work tests the efficiency of the assign- 
ment. One of the surest indices of a teacher's ability is 
the diligence of the study class." 

Study Defined. — Study means more than the mere 
act of reading or the aimless "looking at objects" or pic- 
tures, or the purposeless manipulation of materials. We 
do not apply the term study to the perusal of the ordi- 
nary novel, nor do we speak of reading a text-book. 
Study is more than reading; it is intensive, thoughtful 
reading. Study is the use of books for the purpose of 
mastering a subject or some portion of it. This is the 
usual school meaning of study. In a larger sense, study 
is close, persistent attention to any subject of thought; 
the term study implies earnestness, zeal, diligent effort. 
No cursory looking over the pages of a book is study. 
No attempt to merely memorize the sentences and para- 
graphs of a book is study. No automatic, half-hearted 
conning a lesson over and over is study. No frivolous 
trifling with lessons is study. Study is the opposite of 
wool-gathering, mind-wandering, mental sauntering, in- 
tellectual puttering. Study is not a social function. 
White says: "Study is the attentive application of the 
mind to an object or subject for the purpose of acquiring 
knowledge of it. Study involves persistent attention, the 
continued or prolonged holding of the mind to the know- 



338 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

ing of an object by acts of the will." To study is to ob- 
serve with care, to discover qualities and relations, to 
compare objects or ideas, to analyze a whole into its 
parts, to combine ideas into new groups, to classify 
knowledge; it is investigating with interest, examining 
with a purpose, inquiring with zeal. Study is the self- 
effort of the pupil to obtain knowledge. It is the great- 
est of school arts, for it is the soul searching for truth. 
In the words of Lessing: "Did the Almighty, holding in 
his right hand Truth and in his left hand Search after 
Truth, deign to offer me the one I might prefer, in all 
humility, but without hesitation, I should choose Search 
after Truth." 

Nature of Study. — To understand the nature of the 
processes that go on in the child's mind in the act of 
study, the teacher must know what the laws of apper- 
ception and association, of induction and deduction really 
mean. These laws have been stated in another chapter, 
but it is well for the teacher to keep in mind the fact 
that not one step in the whole process of instruction can 
be discussed intelligently without reference to them. 
For example, it is quite possible in explaining the nature 
of the study process to analyze it into three steps: (i) 
Apprehension, or the act of knowing an individual ob- 
ject, fact, relation, or quality — the result of this process 
of thinking being a percept; (2) comprehension, or the 
act of knowing a thing in relation to other things in its 
class — the result being a concept; (3) application, or the 
act of making knowledge available in some definite or 
practical way. It will be seen that all of these steps are 
included in the process of apperception, for the appre- 
hension of a new object or experience cannot take place 
without the aid of related experiences and ideas already 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 339 

in the mind; comprehension includes comparison of old 
and new ideas, separation of qualities, and classification; 
while application in its most common form is the process 
of using our old knowledge to acquire and express new 
ideas. 

No better description of the art of learning has been 
written than Mr. T. C. Rooper's little book called "A 
Pot of Green Feathers.' 3 "To assimilate, then, a wholly 
new impression is necessarily a task of some difficulty. 
... If the new impression is not of a nature to make 
us feel strongly, and if it is isolated and unconnected 
with any other knowledge present in our minds, it prob- 
ably passes away quickly and passes into oblivion, just 
as a little child may take notice of a shooting star on a 
summer night, and after wondering for a moment thinks 
of it no more; if, however, our feelings are excited, and 
if the object which gives the impression remains before 
us long enough to make the impression strong, then the 
impression becomes associated with the feelings, the will 
comes into play, in consequence of which we determine 
to remember the new impression and to seek an explana- 
tion of it. With this object the mind searches its pre- 
vious stock of ideas more particularly, comparing the 
new with the old, rejecting the totally unlike and retain- 
ing the like or the most like, and in the end it overcomes 
the obstacle of assimilation and finds a place for the new 
along with the old mental stores, thereby enriching it- 
self, consciously or unconsciously — unconsciously in the 
earlier years, and consciously afterward." 

But it must not be inferred that because the mind 
must always follow certain definite laws in the process of 
studying, therefore the act of study is a monotonous, 
unvarying mental effort. The laws of mind are capable 



340 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of infinite variety of illustration and application. There 
is also a great variety of subject-matter and there are 
many points of view which may serve as approaches to 
any specific lesson. So while it is true, as Sir William 
Hamilton says, that "the highest function of the mind is 
nothing higher than comparison, " it is equally true that 
there is a vast difference between the method and the 
results of the act of comparison of a child and those of a 
philosopher in observing the same object. The power 
to study, to learn, to think is of slow growth, and teach- 
ers must clearly understand that the manner and method 
of assigning lessons, the length of the lesson, the require- 
ments as to study, the degree of thoroughness to be ex- 
pected, the results to be demanded of any class to be 
reasonable and just must be suited to their age, experi- 
ence, and ability. 

The subject-matter of text-books consists of (i) facts; 
(2) definitions, rules, laws, and principles; (3) reasoning 
from facts; (4) application of rules and principles; (5) 
drills. Facts must be acquired through perception, 
memory, and association; definitions and principles must 
be approached through induction, which includes com- 
parison, abstraction, judgment, and classification; rea- 
soning from facts involves inference and imagination; 
application of rules and principles is the process of deduc- 
tion; drills consist in the intelligent application of prin- 
ciples to specific acts that it is considered worth while to 
make automatic. Throughout this whole process, feel- 
ing and will are present in the form of interest and atten- 
tion. This work of the pupil is begun in the school as 
one process. No lessons are assigned, little use is made 
of the text-book, the teaching is oral, the objective factor 
is prominent, and all work is done under the immediate 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 341 

direction of the teacher. Gradually, however, the work 
is divided into two exercises: (i) the study lesson, (2) 
the recitation. Oral teaching is used less and less; text- 
book study is more and more required. The change 
must be gradually made, or pupils become confused, dis- 
couraged, and form bad habits of study. Thus teaching 
refers to the efforts of the instructor to cause pupils to 
learn; learning is the activity of the pupil in the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge; while study is the means by which 
the act of learning is made successful and the act of 
teaching is made effective. The mental effect of acquir- 
ing knowledge by correct methods is discipline. The 
power to use knowledge accurately, rapidly, and easily 
is skill. 

Aims of the Study Lesson. — In his oversight of the 
study lesson the teacher should keep in mind the aims 
to be attained in this part of the work. He must realize 
that the study habits formed by his pupils will determine 
pretty largely their progress, both in school and after they 
leave school. He must also comprehend the intimate 
relation between the conduct of pupils and the study 
dabits that they acquire, and that the right use of his 
time by the pupil during the study period is one of 
the most satisfactory assurances that his school life 
will shape his character along right lines. Thus the 
teacher has every incentive to cultivate in his pupils 
the habit of faithful and persistent study. To this 
end the teacher must always keep definitely in mind as 
educational objectives the specific abilities and skills 
which he desires his pupils to develop. It surely needs 
no argument to prove that if pupils need a definite 
aim in the recitation, when at work under the imme- 
diate guidance and with the helpful oversight and wise 



342 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

direction of the teacher, still greater will be their need of 
such an aim while they are preparing their lessons without 
the teacher's active assistance and direct aid. This topic 
has been treated quite fully in the chapter on the "Proper 
Assignment of the Lesson." We are not advocating the 
" Individual method" nor the "Batavia plan" when we 
insist upon the proper supervision of the study lesson and 
the need of a definite aim in the pupil's preparation. What 
we need is a proper correlation of study lessons and recita- 
tions. Recitations are by no means to be abolished, for 
to do away with them would be to deprive the pupils of 
very much of the best training which the school affords, 
and would also take away from the pupil the most potent, 
immediate, and natural stimulus to study. Therefore it 
would seem that the solution of the difficult problem of 
preventing waste of time and energy in school work is not 
to abolish the recitation nor even make it subordinate to 
the study lesson. 

Nor will the problem of waste in the school-room be 
solved by the introduction of manual training and all the 
arts and crafts into the course of study. Intelligent think- 
ing must accompany or precede all rational action, and the 
manipulation of materials by pupils under the guidance of 
teachers who are incompetent to teach children how to 
think and plan, how to observe and study, will not reform 
our schools. 

The really vital question is to bring about a better cor- 
relation between the pupil's seat work and his class work. 
And this correlation can be effected by properly assigned 
lessons and wise oversight of the pupil's study lesson. In 
stating the aims of the study lesson we may well pass over 
the rather sweeping and indefinite objects usually given 
by educational writers, such as "a well-formed mind," "a 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 343 

well-filled mind," "a well-rounded character," or, as 
another writer puts them, ''knowledge, discipline, aspira- 
tion, and efficiency." These aims are too broad and gen- 
eral and apply as much to the recitation as they do to the 
study lesson. Only a few of the more definite aims will 
be suggested. 

(i) To Acquire Power to Master Books Independently. — 
As Dr. White says: "It is to be kept in mind that knowl- 
edge is not the only end in view in teaching, but, what may 
be more important, the training of the pupil's power to 
acquire knowledge from books." 

Whatever may be the value of oral instruction, there is 
one thing that cannot be taught orally, and that is the inde- 
pendent and right use of books. That the mastery of 
books is one of the most important things that the school 
has to give is obvious, for the independent and wise use 
of books is the chief means of self-culture open to pupils 
after they leave school. In these days when ardent re- 
formers would banish books from the schools, teach all 
subjects orally, introduce all the arts and trades, and teach 
pupils to "make things," it is well to remember that written 
language preserved in parchments and books and scattered 
abroad by means of pen and printing-press is still the 
greatest force in our civilization and the most precious 
product of man's thought. School training should unlock 
the treasure-houses of wisdom by teaching pupils how to 
read the best books in the best way, how to master the art 
of "husking the author's thought." 

The report of the Committee of Fifteen says: "Inas- 
much as reading is the first of the scholastic arts, it is 
interesting to note that the whole elementary course may 
be described as an extension of the process of learning 
the art of reading." Now the art of reading, in the large 



344 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

sense, is acquired only through the study of text-books in 
arithmetic, geography, history, and so on. It cannot be 
taught by theory, but must be learned by practice. To 
learn the art of study, pupils must study, not fitfully, dis- 
connectedly, without direction and definite purpose, but 
with proper guidance and with adequate mental stimulus. 
Only in this way can the average pupil acquire the power 
to become, at last, independent of teachers and schools. 
Only thus can he really enter the realm of wisdom, a realm 
so vast, so rich, so beautiful as to repay a hundred-fold 
every one who gains admission to it for all the hardships 
of the journey. Therefore the wise teacher will carefully 
supervise the efforts of the pupils in learning their lessons, 
will plan their work carefully, will encourage their attempts 
at independent study, will give only such assistance as 
may be needed, and will seek in every possible way to 
rightly teach the art of study. 

(2) To Acquire the Power of Sustained Thinking. — Not 
all reading is study, and for three reasons: (1) The reading 
matter may be trivial as compared with the reader's 
ability to think; (2) it may possess an undue sensational 
interest; (3) the reader may seek to master only the words, 
giving little or no heed to the thought. Now, in the first 
case, the pupil does not improve in the power to think, for 
to improve in any power that power must be exercised 
nearly or quite up to its limit. A course of study, properly 
arranged, affords a continuous exercise of the pupil's 
increasing power to think. And text-books are graded 
according to their difficulties so as to afford opportunity 
for this same up-to-the-limit thinking at every step of the 
pupil's progress. 

In the second case, the reading matter may possess great 
interest but have no educational value whatever. Indeed, 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 345 

it may weaken or destroy the pupil's power to apply himself 
to hard study. Skimming the daily newspaper, the cheap 
magazine, or the dime novel does not cultivate the habit 
of sustained thinking. 

In the third place, the so-called study of a text-book for 
the purpose of learning the words merely does not help 
the pupil to acquire the power to think. Writing of his 
experience as a pupil, Dr. Francis Wayland said: "Geog- 
raphy was studied without a map, by the use of a perfectly 
dry compendium. I had no idea of what was meant by 
bounding a country, though I daily repeated the boundaries 
at recitation. I studied English grammar in the same way. 
I had a good memory, and could repeat the grammar 
throughout. What it was about I had not the least 
conception. Once the school-master was visiting at my 
father's, and I was called up to show my proficiency in 
this branch of learning. I surprised my friends by my 
ability to begin at the commencement and to proceed as 
far as was desired; yet it did not convey to me a single 
idea." And under some modern teachers, even high- 
school students commit to memory the demonstrations to 
theorems in geometry. Thus it is clear that no simple 
reading of books constitutes study. It is only the close 
and persistent effort to master the real thought of a book 
suited to his ability and not possessing an undue sensational 
interest that cultivates the pupil's power of sustained think- 
ing. And it would almost seem that pupils have to acquire 
this power out of school rather than in it, because teachers 
so often fail to understand that reading a book may not be 
study, and do not realize the value of the real study of text- 
books as a means of cultivating the power to think. 

(3) To Form the Habit of Self-controlled Work. — Pupils 
form the habit of work just as they form other habits, by 



346 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

practice. Close attention, persistent effort to accom- 
plish a definite purpose, steady application to the task 
in hand, are all required in the right preparation of a 
lesson that has been properly assigned. And this train- 
ing, begun in the lower grades and continued judiciously, 
systematically, to the end of the course, will enable the 
pupil to carry with him into his life-work the elements 
that win success; for such a habit of self-controlled work 
represents years of faithful, continuous effort, daily tasks 
well performed, self-restraint, self-reliance, and self-direc- 
tion. 

(4) To Develop the Sense of Personal Responsibility. — • 
Another object of the study lesson is to teach pupils the 
great lesson of individual responsibility. Well-defined 
daily tasks are allotted to the pupil every day. tEvery 
day he is called upon to render an account of the man- 
ner in which he has performed his daily tasks. No bet- 
ter way has been contrived to develop in children the 
sense of personal responsibility than the hourly alterna- 
tion of recitation and study lesson, when lessons are 
properly assigned, the pupil's preparation carefully 
supervised, and the pupil held rigidly to account in the 
recitation for the proper use of his time and opportuni- 
ties. Such are some of the objects of the study lesson. 

Method of Lesson Study. — Study is not the mere 
memorizing of the words of the lesson, though this is 
just what most pupils try to do in preparing a lesson. 
Perhaps this is why it is said that by the time a pupil 
leaves school he has already forgotten nine-tenths of 
what he has been taught. Herbert Spencer would have 
pupils learn only such facts as are organizable, and, bar- 
ring some exceptions like English spelling, the rule is a 
sound one. Organizable facts are those which are con- 
nected with other facts by means of thought relations. 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 347 

These facts should be associated together, not in an arbi- 
trary fashion, but by means of their relations, and thor- 
oughly mastered so as to serve as materials for the rea- 
soning powers of the mind to work with. It is such 
knowledge only that forms a safe basis for the reception 
and assimilation of fresh knowledge. Real progress in 
learning is not to be measured by pages, but by what 
the pupil acquires as a real and permanent possession. 
"The principal cause of so many dullards is quantity 
teaching," says Francis Parker. Jacotot has four rules 
for learning a thing, and Joseph Payne sums up these 
rules as follows: (i) Learn something; that is, learn so 
as to know thoroughly, perfectly, immovably, as well 
six months or twelve months hence, as now — something 
—something which fairly represents the subject to be 
acquired, which contains its essential characteristics. (2) 
Repeat that " something" incessantly every day, or very 
frequently from the beginning, without any omission, so 
that no part may be forgotten. (3) Reflect upon the 
matter thus acquired, so as, by degrees, to make it the 
possession of the mind as well as of the memory, so that, 
being appreciated as a whole, and appreciated in its 
minutest parts, what is as yet unknown may be referred 
to it and interpreted by it. (4) Verify, or test, rules 
and general statements by comparing them with the 
facts which you have learnt yourself." 

From these rules it is very clear that real study is a 
serious business. Acquiring knowledge can never be a 
purely passive matter, and the great value of study is 
not so much the knowledge gained as the improvement 
of the powers of attention, comparison, judgment, clas- 
sification, reasoning, and insight. And this growth of 
the mind is always the result of a process of apprehend- 
ing new knowledge by means of old knowledge; so that 



348 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the correct method of study must ever be the correct in- 
terpretation of impressions received from objects and 
ideas obtained through words, the discovery of their 
organic relations to each other, and the association of 
these impressions or ideas with other similar ones already 
assimilated by the mind. 

All helpful rules for lesson study are based upon these 
principles : 

(i) The first step in study should be to get a clear un- 
derstanding of the subject of the lesson and its relation 
to previous lessons. 

(2) Grasp the main divisions of the lesson and their 
general relation to each other. 

(3) Read the lesson as a whole carefully and connect- 
edly. Hold the mind to the thought without wandering. 
Seek to grasp the relation of ideas, to connect sentence 
with sentence, paragraph with paragraph. 

(4) Study the lesson in its details. Look up unfamiliar 
words. Write out definitions. Master the illustrations 
and think out other similar ones; then write out the 
principle illustrated. Think of practical applications of 
the principle. 

(5) Review the leading points, repeating definitions 
and principles. Then write from memory a brief out- 
line of the whole lesson. 

Difficulties in the Way of Study. — To recognize the 
great importance of the study lesson and to understand 
the nature of study are essential to good teaching, but 
these alone will not make sympathetic teaching. It is 
possible for the teacher to enter into the study lesson so 
vitally and helpfully that pupils are conscious of this 
unity even though the teacher is conducting a recitation 
or is out of the room. Indeed, this feeling of unity be- 
tween teacher and pupils ought not to be confined solely 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 349 

to the recitation and cannot be so confined if the best 
results are to be secured. The source of this feeling of 
unity is the sympathy of the teacher with the pupils in 
their efforts to prepare the lesson as assigned. And no 
teacher will have such sympathy unless he fully under- 
stands the great and real difficulties that beset the pupil 
in mastering his lesson and acquiring the art of study. 
It will be helpful to consider briefly a few of these diffi- 
culties. 

(i) The Child's Previous Mode of Learning. — Children 
acquire a vast amount of knowledge before they enter 
school. From the hour of their birth they have ex- 
periences and come into direct contact with objects. 
Through these experiences and this direct contact with 
objects they gradually acquire a store of percepts, images, 
and crude concepts, and at five years of age have mas- 
tered a working vocabulary comprising hundreds of 
words in common use. Knowledge gained in this way 
is first-hand, or empirical knowledge, and must serve as 
the basis of apperceiving all the knowledge they will 
ever acquire. There is, however, another kind of knowl- 
edge, that which is acquired through the oral descrip- 
tion or the written accounts of other people. This is 
second-hand knowledge. Now, when the child enters 
school he has had five years' experience in the direct 
study of things, and has also acquired some facility in 
acquiring second-hand knowledge through listening to 
stories and the conversation of his elders. But he has 
had no experience whatever in getting knowledge through 
books. He must begin at the first. He must begin the 
mastery of knowledge through symbols. He must con- 
quer a new mode of study. No wonder that his first 
attempts to study a book are feeble, his steps faltering, 
and that he is often discouraged. The sublime courage 



350 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

with which little folks attack the work of mastering the 
difficulties that fairly jostle each other on the printed 
page ought to call out the teacher's admiration and 
sympathy. 

Moreover, the transition from the life at home to that 
of the school is very great, especially when there is no 
preparatory training in the kindergarten. It is a transi- 
tion from untrained activity to the restraints of the 
school-room, from play to regular and systematic work, 
from individual liberty to social co-operation and the 
subordination of the personal will to the control of the 
teacher and the good of the class or school. Feelings 
must be repressed, impulses must be controlled, prefer- 
ences must be sacrificed, tasks must be done. To make 
all these necessary adjustments taxes all the child's 
powers to the utmost, and calls for the patience, the 
kindly help, and the fullest sympathy of the teacher. 

(2) The Change from Oral Lessons to Text-book Lessons 
Is Too Sudden. — The method of teaching in the lower 
grades is by means of oral lessons. Primary teachers 
are, as a rule, specialists. They frequently do not un- 
derstand the work of the higher grades and sometimes 
they do not try to understand it. Hence they take no 
pains to prepare pupils for the independent study of text- 
books. Lessons are developed, objects are used, seat 
work is planned in the third grade, just as they were in 
the first and second grades. As a consequence pupils 
enter the fourth grade almost totally unprepared for the 
study of text-books. There they are given books and 
are told to study their lessons, the very thing that they 
have not been taught how to do. Is it any wonder that 
they "mark time," become discouraged, take refuge in 
the mere senseless memorizing of the words of the book, 
and form a dislike for books, teacher, and school ? Here 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 351 

are the causes of the first great exodus of pupils from our 
public schools. In an address before the session of the 
National Educational Association of 1908, Dr. Andrew 
Draper said: "When but one- third of the children re- 
main to the end of the elementary course in a country 
where education is such a universal passion, there is 
something the matter with the schools.' ' 

It is a tremendous fact, and a fact that may justly 
cause apprehension, that so large a per cent of the chil- 
dren in this country never get beyond the fourth grade 
in our schools, and go out into life with almost no train- 
ing in the use of books, deprived of the means of self- 
culture, and capable of reading only the sensational 
newspaper or the trashiest kind of literature. 

(3) Text-books in Themselves Are No Stimulus to Ef- 
fort. — -When pupils are set to learning a lesson from a 
text-book without the assistance of properly assigned 
lessons, they are at once deprived of all the helps so 
characteristic of oral teaching. In oral lessons the voice 
and manner, the emphasis and language of the teacher 
may all be adapted to the pupils. The teacher calls into 
play every device and illustration by the use of objects, 
gestures, drawing, painting, dramatizing to help pupils 
grasp the thought. But the printed page of the text- 
book is an unvarying, monotonous stimulus, to which 
the pupil not trained to study cannot hold his attention 
without some definite thing to look for. He thus fails 
to get his lesson, is scolded, ridiculed, kept in, punished, 
all to no purpose. What he needs are properly assigned 
work, training in how to study, and sympathy. 

(4) Physical Conditions May Hinder Study. — Impure 
air, bad light, imperfect heating, a loud-voiced teacher, 
a disorderly room, uncomfortable seats may make it im- 
possible for pupils to hold their thoughts to the study of 



352 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the book. These factors have been discussed in a pre- 
ceding chapter. 

(5) Outside Interests and Distractions May Prevent 
Study. — Pupils are interested in many things outside of 
the school-room. They are interested in home duties or 
pleasures, in games or sports, in story-books and fairy 
tales, in parties and picnics, in holidays and street life. 
Some of these interests can be turned to good account 
by the skilful teacher to serve as approaches to text-book 
study or illustrations in class work; but for the most part 
all these varied interests must be banished from the 
mind of the pupil during the study lesson. In some 
cases these outside interests may invade the school to 
such an extent that the entire school is demoralized. 
An athletic craze or a skating-rink mania or an epidemic 
of parties has sometimes completely spoiled a term's 
work. 

Such are some of the difficulties that must be over- 
come by pupils in acquiring studious habits. These 
difficulties are very real and very great — so great that 
unless parents wisely co-operate with the school, and 
unless the teachers realize the nature of these obstacles 
to study and render pupils proper assistance in overcom- 
ing them, the right education of the child is impossible. 

Right Conditions of Study. — If the right conditions for 
study do not exist in the school, the teacher should delib- 
erately set to work to make them right. He should, if 
necessary, secure the co-operation of the school board in 
making the physical conditions as favorable as possible. 
He should endeavor to create a healthy school atmos- 
phere in the community by getting into close touch 
with the parents by personal visits, patrons' meetings, 
appropriate exercises at the schools, reports of each 
pupil's progress, judicious use of home study, and gen- 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 353 

eral oversight of the pupil's home reading through a wise 
use of the library. Good order and a reasonable degree 
of quiet, well-assigned lessons, oversight of the pupil's 
preparation, good teaching in the recitation, kindly en- 
couragement are all prime conditions of study and these 
are all within the teacher's control. These may be called 
the objective conditions of study. 

On the subjective side there are three main conditions 
of study: 

(i) The pupil must know how to study his lesson. 
The teacher must make no mistake here by simply as- 
suming that pupils know how to study the lesson; he 
must know whether they do or not, and if they do not 
he must show them how. 

(2) Interest in the lesson. Interest is that form of 
intellectual feeling that spurs us on to examine, to in- 
quire, to investigate, to experiment. Natural or primi- 
tive interest is the craving of the mind for knowledge, 
the instinct of the soul for truth; while acquired interest 
springs out of the stock of ideas which we have already 
made our own. To arouse the pupil's interest in any 
lesson, the teacher must discover some point of attach- 
ment between the lesson and the pupil's previous experi- 
ences and make the pupil conscious of this relationship. 

(3) Attention, or will. Interest that is not sustained, 
and, as it were, constantly re-created, by attention is 
fugitive and almost valueless in book study. Years ago 
Rollin declared: "We should never lose sight of this 
grand principle that study depends on the will, and the 
will does not endure restraint. We can, to be sure, put 
constraints on the body and make a pupil, however un- 
willing, stick to his desk, can double his toil by punish- 
ment, compel him to finish a task imposed upon him, 
and with this object we can deprive him of play and 



354 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

recreation. But is this work of the galley-slave study- 
ing? And what remains to the pupil from this kind of 
study but a hatred of books, of learning, and of masters, 
often till the end of his days ? It is, then, the will that 
we must draw on our side, and this we must do by gen- 
tleness, by friendliness, by persuasion, and, above all, 
by the allurement of pleasure." 

How to Help Pupils to Study. — Helping pupils to learn 
how to study is one of the most necessary and important 
duties of the teacher. We have stated that no matter how 
skilfully the lesson may have been assigned, pupils must 
not be left during the study lesson without supervision. 
Some reasons for this statement will be considered. 

(i) Physical Conditions Need Constant Readjustment. 
— These conditions are variable and therefore need 
the constant attention of the teacher. Window-curtains 
need adjustment. The temperature must be regulated. 
The ventilation requires attention. The physical needs 
of pupils in regard to fatigue and change of work cannot 
be ignored. Pupils have their limitations beyond which 
they cannot go, and any teacher who attempts the im- 
possible is doomed to failure. Teachers should neither 
omit nor neglect anything, however small, that helps to 
create an atmosphere of study, tone up the mind, revive 
the energy, enhance the comfort, increase the vigor, 
cheer the mood, and brace the will of pupils for their 
study of the lesson. This power to look after " little 
things," to foresee conditions, and to plan for results 
constitutes the very essence of efficient practical school 
management. To quote from a recent work on "Public 
School Administration": "The ability of study, involv- 
ing, as it does, both consecutive attention and concen- 
tration of mind, deserves constant control and over- 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 355 

sight by all who are responsible for the progress of school 
work. Every study period, whether in primary or gram- 
mar school, should be supervised by the teacher. Even 
though he may have to perform some other work, he should 
have prepared the class for their study in such a way that 
they know just what to do and how to do it." 

(2) The Plan of Work Must Be Clear. — The aim and 
plan of the lesson must be perfectly clear to the pupils. 
For younger pupils the aim may be written on the board 
in the form of a question, and specific directions should be 
given as to the manner of preparing the lesson. Some 
questions may call for written answers or illustrations by 
means of drawing, painting, maps, and handwork; for 
such work helps to hold the pupil's attention to the lesson 
and aids him in gleaning the thought from the printed page. 
Seat work in the form of copying, paraphrasing, and the 
like, just for the sake of keeping pupils busy, should not 
be tolerated. 

For older pupils study topics may be used in the place 
of questions, and as they grow in power of attention and 
self-control outlines may be used. Finally, the pupil will 
be able to make his own outlines and formulate his own 
questions, and will have so far mastered the art of study 
that he can hold his mind to the lesson without any external 
aids. Thus it is that teachers by training pupils in right 
habits of study develop their powers of self-help and self- 
culture until they become independent workers. This 
is what Dr. Schaeffer meant when he said: "The aim of 
the teacher should be to make himself useless." 

The teacher should realize that the help given to pupils 
during the study lesson should vary with the age, ability, 
and experience of the pupils, with the nature of the subject, 
the character of the text-book, and the purpose of the les- 



356 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

son. Great care must be taken not to assign pupils more 
work than they can do well during the study period. The 
habit of successful and complete preparation must be en- 
couraged. As soon as fatigue and a sense of worry begin 
with young pupils the real value of the study lesson 
ceases and rest or a change of work is needed. 

(3) No Interruption of the Study Lesson Should Be 
Tolerated. — The teacher who does not see to it that all the 
needs of pupils are supplied before the study lesson begins 
is lacking in foresight and managing power. Unless this is 
done frequent interruptions of the study period occur 
through the thoughtlessness of some pupils in the class, and 
these disturbances spoil the work of the whole class. 
Before the signal for the study of the lesson is given, 
pencils should be ready for use; paper provided; books, 
not needed, removed from the desk; necessary physical 
needs attended to; questions answered. Pupils should 
understand once for all that after the study lesson has 
begun there will be no opportunity to ask questions, 
borrow materials of any kind, sharpen pencils, get a drink, 
or change work. Of course, unusual circumstances may 
arise that will demand immediate adjustment, but ordi- 
narily no interruption of the study lesson should be per- 
mitted. Only in this way will pupils learn to appreciate 
the value and sacredness of the study period. As Arnold 
Tompkins says: "If the teacher has carefully provided 
for all the pupil's wants, there can be no necessity for 
giving him attention now. To stop the recitation to an- 
swer his question is to give the time of the twenty in the 
class to the one. He has no right to break the unity 
between the teacher and the class. If he finds now that 
he needs a pencil, to supply him would cultivate a want 
of foresight; and by to-morrow he will want both pencil 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 357 

and book. He cannot get the pencil during the study 
time without breaking up the whole school, for a moment 
at least." Thus the child's feeble power of voluntary 
attention to the study of the text-book must be wisely 
guarded from all "invading influences." So much is 
the child the slave of his senses that he must be protected 
from sights and sounds while he is trying to learn the 
difficult art of connected thinking and sustained atten- 
tion to the lesson in hand. 

(4) Study With the Pupils. — "Come and let me show 
you how," says Dr. James, "is an incomparably better 
stimulus than ' Go and do it as the book directs.' " Quite 
frequently the whole class period may profitably be given 
over to studying with the pupils, not for them. This is 
especially true in introducing new topics or when the 
difficulties in the text-book are unusual. Pupils should not 
be left to meet these difficulties unaided, if there is every 
reason to expect that their efforts will end in defeat for 
all except the chosen few. Making the pupils his fellow- 
workers in the study of a lesson has a stimulating effect 
upon the class. It reveals the teacher to them as a searcher 
for truth. The manner of attacking the lesson serves 
the pupil as a model in his next attempts at independent 
study. It is a helpful lesson in teaching the art of study. 
In such a study exercise the teacher can show how to get 
at the right meaning of words, how to pick out the leading 
thoughts, how to discover organic relations, how to con- 
struct a good definition, how to guard against hasty 
inferences, how to make use of old knowledge in the study 
of the lesson, how to apply what is learned to the ordinary 
affairs of life. The pupils should leave such a co-operative 
study of the lesson with an added thirst for knowledge, a 
sense of power, a greater respect for the subject and the 



358 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

teacher, and a higher ideal of study. It must never be 
forgotten that the teacher sets up the ideals of the school — ■ 
ideals of order, of conduct, of thoroughness of study. 
Toward these ideals the pupils working with the teacher 
are ever striving, ever advancing. 

(5) Teach the Art of Study Through Practice in Study. — 
The art of study, like every other art, is learned through 
practice — not unregulated, half-hearted, hap-hazard, spas- 
modic practice, but through wisely directed, continuous, 
whole-minded work under the inspiration of correct ideals. 
" One of the first duties of the teacher," says Roark, " is 
to show the pupil how to prepare a lesson — how to direct 
effort and to economize time; how to exert thought power 
and to question himself and his text-book while he is 
studying; and especially how to enjoy the processes of 
learning facts and understanding them." 

Pupils must be trained in the use of study helps. Very 
many pupils even in the high school do not know how to 
use the dictionary helpfully. This work should not be 
begun until the fourth grade, and must not be overdone, 
but definite pains should be taken to train pupils how to 
get the meaning of words from their context; how to find 
words readily in the dictionary and how to select the right 
word from many synonyms; how to trace the etymology 
of words; and the leading suffixes and most important 
roots should be memorized. Few reference books should 
be used in the lower grades, since the pupil is not able to 
account for the seeming discrepancies between the different 
books on the same subject. But as pupils gain power to 
master books and greater maturity of judgment they must 
be trained in the use of reference books and the sifting of 
evidence, and encouraged to make a constant use of the 
library as a means of self-instruction. 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 359 

The problem of capturing the pupil's interest and hold- 
ing his attention to the study lesson is always present and 
always vital. Here the personal relations between the 
teacher and pupils are of the greatest importance. Older 
pupils may study from a sense of duty, but young pupils 
who dislike the teacher will seldom like their lessons or 
their school. It is of the greatest moment that teachers 
should seek to win the confidence and affection of young 
pupils. Children do their best when encouraged by hope 
and love; they are at their worst intellectually and morally 
when depressed by fear and a lack of sympathy. The 
teacher must strive to make the school a pleasant place for 
the child, must respect his feelings, encourage him to 
express his real and best self, call out his interests and turn 
these interests into profitable channels. Roopersays: "It 
is a useful hint to study the children's own lead and follow 
it. School necessarily limits the child's life. You cannot 
bring all creation into the four walls of the class-room. 
But what you lose in extent you gain in depth; you lose 
variety, you gain in concentration. Before school-time 
all things engage the child's attention in turns and nothing 
long. At school he has to attend to a few things, and to 
keep his attention fixed upon them for short periods at 
first but for increasingly longer ones. It is a matter of 
practice and experience to find what things most readily 
arrest attention, and in what way information can best be 
conveyed so as to arrest attention, and it is in these matters 
that the skill of the teacher comes in." 

It is of very little avail to hold up to young children 
incentives to study that are remote in time and more com- 
plex than they can comprehend, such as would appeal to 
older pupils. The art of study cannot be taught by rules 
and exhortations. What the pupil needs in his first at- 



360 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

tempts at study is that the teacher go with him, aid him in 
his task, throw light on the dark places, praise him when 
he does well, help him up when he falls, encourage him 
when he loses heart. Only by such help can the majority 
of pupils be saved from waste of time, dawdling over les- 
sons, failure in recitation, aversion to study, and indiffer- 
ence to acquiring an education. 
. Home study should be judiciously assigned. The con- 
ditions in many homes are such that effective study is quite 
impossible. The kind of work so assigned should receive 
especial consideration. Probably the poorest lessons for 
home study are arithmetic and grammar lessons; history, 
supplementary reading, and library work are much better. 
Home study may be made a means of interesting parents 
in the school work of their children, and such work may 
be suggested only, not required. 

(6) Help Pupils to Formulate Rules for Study. — The 
last stage in teaching the art of study may very properly 
consist in developing certain helpful rules and principles 
of mental application. Under the careful guidance of the 
teacher, the pupils have all along practised these rules 
and, no doubt, some of the most important rules have 
already been formulated by the more thoughtful members 
of the class. Having thus mastered the art of study by 
practice under intelligent guidance, and having formulated 
the principles on which the art is based, and having ac- 
quired a permanent interest in science, history, literature, 
and art, pupils are, at last, fairly independent of teachers; 
for they are able to teach themselves. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Strayer, "A Brief Course in the Teaching Process," chap. 
VIII; Earhart, "Teaching Children to Study," chaps. IV, VIII; 
F. M. McMurry, "How to Study and Teaching How to Study "; 



THE PUPIL'S STUDY OF THE LESSON 361 

Hinsdale, "Art of Study," chaps. IV, VI, VII, IX; Tompkins, 
"School Management," pp. 133-141; Perry, "The Manage- 
ment of a City School," pp. 205-214; H. B. Wilson, "Training 
Pupils to Study"; Hall-Quest, "Supervised Study," chaps. 
VII, VIII; Strayer and Engelhardt, "The Classroom Teacher," 
chap. VII; Davis, "The Work of the Teacher," chap. VIII. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 

Is There a Typical Method of Teaching ? — The young 
teacher is bewildered by the number and diversity of the 
factors that enter into the problem of instruction. 
Teaching a class of restless, wide-awake boys and girls 
is a very practical affair. It is a time for action. There 
is no chance to theorize. To "get the ear" of the audi- 
ence the lesson must be suited to the class. In its pres- 
entation the teacher must conform to the laws that con- 
trol the development of the mind. No real success is 
possible unless the pupil's consciousness is actively en- 
gaged in the process of learning. So it matters little 
what the course of study may be, or the subject, or the 
lesson, or the aim and plan of the lesson; if all these are 
not adapted to the age, the experience, and the capacity 
of the individuals composing the class, they are all alike 
fruitless; hence most teachers work very hard all through 
the recitation to adapt their instruction to the class be- 
fore them. The degree in which they succeed in this 
adaptation is the measure of their success. A few gifted 
teachers seem to divine the right method of procedure 
almost intuitively; other would-be teachers never learn 
it and are failures; while the great majority of successful 
teachers discover the way through study, observation, 
and practice. 

To all students of the art of teaching the question of 
method is a very important one. To the novice it seems 

362 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 363 

that the method of teaching must change with the sub- 
ject taught, the age of the pupils, the environment of 
the schools, the text-book in use, and that there are no 
certain rules or general laws to guide the teacher through 
the maze of difficulties. But the teacher who studies 
the problem of method carefully soon comes to realize 
that there are certain fundamental principles underlying 
all method. In time it dawns upon him that in spite of 
all the diversity of subject-matter, text-books, school 
surroundings, and teaching devices, in spite of all the 
differences in age, acquirement, and individuality of pu- 
pils, there is a truly typical method of teaching which is, 
in the main, constant and capable of being adapted to 
nearly all subjects and classes. And this is so because 
the major movements of the mind are common to all 
learners and because the fundamental laws of teaching, 
based as they are on the nature of the mind, are valid 
for all subjects and find application in every recitation. 
To be successful the teacher must base his method of 
teaching upon the pupiPs method of learning. Without 
this the teacher and pupil do not really work together; 
they work at cross-purposes and only confuse and irri- 
tate each other. As Raymont says: "That the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge or of skill is a process of assimilation 
of new to old, that the relevant parts of a pupiPs pre- 
viously acquired stock of ideas should therefore be re- 
called, that there should be a progress from the concrete 
and particular to the abstract and general, that ideas 
must be possessed before they can be applied, and that 
application in its turn makes for effective and perma- 
nent possession; these are truths as sure as the law of 
gravitation, because they embody the plain facts of the 
working of a child's mind." These facts are the basis 



364 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

of method in teaching. Any form of procedure that runs 
counter to these facts is no method. 

Meaning of Method. — Sir William Hamilton says: 
"All method is a rational progress toward a definite 
end." Method, then, is the process of reaching a defi- 
nite end by the wise use of a series of related acts which 
tend to secure that end. 

As denned by Dewey: " Method is not antithetical to 
subject-matter; it is the effective direction of subject- 
matter to desired results." 

As applied to class teaching, method is the series of 
related and progressive acts used by the teacher to ac- 
complish the specific aim of the lesson. Method in 
teaching implies a definite lesson aim. Where there is 
no such aim, there can be no method. 

To be rational, method in teaching must be based 
upon the fundamental laws of mind. To be logical and 
progressive, there must be a correct arrangement, se- 
quence, and correlation of all the acts and means em- 
ployed by the teacher in reaching the aim. To be effec- 
tive, method must accomplish the aim set up at the be- 
ginning of the recitation. To be consistent, method 
must remain the same throughout the recitation, or as 
long as the lesson aim remains the same. As a complete 
process, method in instruction must include (i) observa- 
tion of particular concrete objects, qualities, facts, or re- 
lations; (2) comparison of the data observed and a clear 
perception of the qualities that are common to a class; 
(3) induction proper, or the formulation of a definition, 
law, or general truth based upon these common quali- 
ties; (4) deduction or the application of rules, laws, and 
principles to particular cases. 

Great Variety of So-called " Methods." — It will mark 
a great advance in our American schools when these sim- 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 365 

pie principles shall be applied in practice, for in no other 
department of educational theory has there been such 
hopeless confusion of thought as in the realm of so-called 
" methods. " Until very recently the term "methods" 
has been applied quite indiscriminately, not only to the 
more important phases of the teaching process, but also 
to the petty devices and expedients used by the teacher 
and to the manifold forms which the recitation may 
assume in its forward movement. And so we have a 
bewildering array of general and special methods; pri- 
mary methods, grade methods, and high-school methods; 
Grube method, Speer method, spiral method, and prac- 
tical method in arithmetic; Spencerian, vertical, Za- 
nerian, and Palmer methods in writing; and in reading 
the ABC method, the word method, the sentence 
method, the Ward method, the Aldine method, the Bea- 
con method, the eclectic method, and a score of others. 
A popular work in school management has the follow- 
ing classification: 

CLASS METHODS CLASS DEVICES 

i. Unity method. i. The class. 

2. Individual method. 2. Written work. 

3. Investigation method. 3. Laboratory work. 

4. Teaching-question method. 4. Outline work. 

5. Conversation method. 5. Reporting work. 

6. Topic method., 6. Teaching work. 

7. Discussion method. 7. Concert work. 

8. Lecture method. 8. Original class devices. 

Now, it is perfectly evident that there is no clear prin- 
ciple of division between methods and devices in the 
above outline. 

In a recent book Dr. Stevenson states that in his ex- 
amination of over forty text-books he found fourteen 
methods of teaching now in common use, as follows: 



366 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

" Questions, topics, problems, examples, originals, exer- 
cises, drills, tests, reviews, applications, illustrations, 
demonstrations, experiments, and practicums." 

Another author says: "In the main, most subjects are 
treated according to one of three methods, namely, ac- 
cording to the lecture, the text-book, or the developing 
method." Now these three forms of the recitation 
should not be considered as independent methods. They 
are simply three different phases, or aspects, of one 
method. The teacher may make use of all these phases 
in the same recitation, may use now one, then another, 
but this does not mean that every such change is a 
change of method. Method in teaching is not deter- 
mined by such mechanical and external forms of proce- 
dure as using a text-book or not using a text-book, ques- 
tioning by the teacher or lecturing by the teacher, oral 
work or written work. All these are merely the different 
forms that the recitation may assume in its progress 
toward the realization of the lesson aim. The recitation 
should be considered as a concrete, definite exercise with 
a specific aim to be attained by a series of logically 
related acts on the teacher's part which call forth corre- 
spondingly related mental processes and physical acts 
on the part of the pupils, all tending to accomplish this 
aim. Thus method in teaching depends upon the na- 
ture of the child's mental processes as expressed in the 
fundamental laws of teaching. 

Method in teaching is not a haphazard use of unre- 
lated devices, changing as fashions change, dependent 
upon the caprice or convenience of the teacher. If 
method is not a fundamental thing in the teaching-learn- 
ing process, then there can be no science of education. 
Dr. E. C. Moore says: "When the subject has been de- 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 367 

termined and the class is there ready to begin its work, 
does it make any difference how the teacher proceeds? 
The fact is that it does. We may spend millions in 
erecting school palaces; we may gather the youth of the 
nation together in them; we may employ an army of 
teachers to teach them just what they should know; but 
unless they are given an opportunity to learn, the un- 
dertaking will be in vain. The test of teaching is learn- 
ing. That must be done by the students." 

The Lesson Aim, or Problem, or Project. — Elsewhere 
we have shown that the law of aim applies to all teach- 
ing, and that there is, in fact, no such thing as method 
in the recitation without some aim in view. This law 
implies that in order to accomplish the most effective 
work the pupils as well as the teacher must keep the les- 
son aim in mind, must consciously work toward it dur- 
ing their study lesson, must strive together to realize it 
in the recitation, and must know when they have at- 
tained it. Such an aim, it has been shown, becomes the 
pupil's guide in his search for knowledge; but if it is to 
be such a guide, it must be stated so clearly, concretely, 
and attractively that it appeals to him as a definite thing 
to be done, a problem to be solved, a principle to be 
mastered and applied. The lesson aim should be stated 
briefly and simply. It may take the form of a sentence, 
setting forth the work to be done during the recitation. 
It may be a single question which serves to turn the 
thought of the class in a definite direction. It may be 
the application of some rule or definition or principle, 
previously mastered, to new cases, facts, and problems. 
In stating the aim a set form of words should be avoided. 
While the lesson aim must bear a close relation to the 
pupil's previous knowledge of the subject, it should sug- 



368 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

gest something new. There should be no " beating 
around the bush," no guessing game to dissipate the 
pupil's interest and attention, for the aim should serve 
to focus the pupil's mind upon the subject, call up many 
of his old related ideas, arouse him to effort in preparing 
his lesson, keep the teacher and pupil from wandering 
during the recitation, and serve as a definite standard by 
which to estimate the value of questions and answers, 
devices and illustrations, and all the other means used 
to realize the specific aim of each lesson. 

What Is Implied in the Proper Statement of the Les- 
son Aim or Problem. — The proper statement of the les- 
son aim is a difficult matter, for it implies very much in 
the way of general preparation as well as accurate and 
specific information on the part of the teacher. The 
teacher must understand the course of study as a whole. 
Then he must be able to arrange all the material included 
in the course into related groups of knowledge fitted for 
the pupils in a certain stage of development. Next he 
must think his way clearly through each subject that he 
is to teach and comprehend the relation of one part to 
another. And, finally, he must divide the portion of 
each subject that is to be presented to his own special 
class into definite smaller wholes to be mastered separ- 
ately by the pupils. Such connected portions of subject- 
matter are called "method- wholes," " method-units," 
or " projects." Such a unit or project must embody a 
valuable concept, definition, or principle, or must require 
the application of definitions and principles. To dis- 
cover, verify, master, and apply these principles is the 
essence of the teaching-learmng process. The method- 
unit, or project, is not so many pages of the text-book 
or so many exercises to be worked out. It is a portion 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 369 

of subject-matter in the text-book, or represents a " pur- 
posive activity" out of school, which requires for its 
mastery by the pupil a complete process of thinking in- 
cluding: (i) a clear grasp of the problem, or thought- 
situation, and a more or less definite plan of overcom- 
ing the difficulty involved; (2) gathering data bearing on 
the situation through the use of observation, experi- 
ment, and the memory of past related experiences; (3) 
comparing and sifting data and trying to fit the acquired 
material into the plan for solving the problem; (4) dis- 
covering thought relations and principles; (5) verify- 
ing principles and applying them to meet new situa- 
tions. 

Now this complete process of thinking may require 
the time of one recitation period only; but usually the 
mastery of the method-unit, or project, will require more 
than one recitation period and may occupy the time of 
many recitation periods and study periods. Therefore 
it is necessary that the teacher shall divide the larger 
method-unit, or project, into smaller portions called 
lessons, each having its distinct aim. And this lesson 
aim as compared with the aim of the method-unit, or 
project, is a subordinate one, or a sub-aim that can be 
realized in a single recitation period. 

From this discussion it is obvious that in order to 
apprehend clearly the aim of each lesson and state it 
properly, the teacher must: (1) Grasp the scope and 
meaning of the course of study; (2) be able to analyze 
the material of the course of study into definite projects 
or method-units; (3) know the contents of the pupils' 
minds, their mental capital, interests, and stage of 
growth; (4) understand the mental processes involved in 
the act of mastering a general truth; (5) be able to plan 



370 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the lesson in accordance with the fundamental laws of 
teaching. 

Class Activities in the Recitation Lesson. — Since learn- 
ing is the result of the thinking activities of the members 
of the class as individuals, the quality and quantity of 
such activities are the best test of the success of the 
recitation lesson. In primary grades these thinking ac- 
tivities are called oral lessons; in the higher grades text- 
book lessons are the usual form of instruction. 

(i) Oral Lessons. — Oral lessons must be the chief 
means of instruction in the lower grades, and as the 
pupil advances in the course, oral instruction should 
decrease, while book study should increase. There are 
two ways of acquiring the materials of knowledge: (i) 
By experience and observation; (2) by authority. 
Knowledge which is the result of experience and obser- 
vation is called first-hand knowledge, because in these 
processes the objects studied are brought into direct 
contact with the mind of the learner. On the other 
hand, knowledge acquired by authority is called second- 
hand knowledge, because the objects of study are not 
brought into direct contact with the learner's mind, but 
are presented indirectly by the use of symbols, such as 
spoken words, pictures, maps, charts, drawings, and the 
printed page. 

The child is a keen observer and a ceaseless experi- 
menter, and thus, before he enters school, he has ac- 
quired a great amount of experience and first-hand 
knowledge and achieved skills that serve him as a 
basis, and the only basis, for acquiring knowledge 
through the use of symbols. 

Oral lessons should be mainly inductive, not dog- 
matic. They should be based on the pupil's experience 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 371 

and observation, not upon authority. They should be 
conversational and should never degenerate into a mere 
talking exercise on the part of the teacher. Thus oral 
instruction should develop in the pupil the power to 
make correct inferences, both inductively and deduc- 
tively, from facts derived chiefly through his own experi- 
ence and observation. Only thus is he prepared to use 
text-books intelligently and to vitalize knowledge ac- 
quired from the printed page. The ability of the pupil 
to understand the words or other symbols used in ac- 
quiring knowledge by authority depends upon his power 
to interpret such words and symbols into vivid images 
in terms of his own past experiences. 

In the hands of a well-trained and experienced pri- 
mary teacher we find in these oral lessons our best ex- 
amples of what the motivated, socialized, supervised, and 
most effective teaching-learning process should be — 
school work at its best. The laws of the teaching-learn- 
ing process, as given in Chapter XIX, that apply to oral 
lessons are particularly the laws of sense-perception, 
motor reaction, apperception, self-activity, interest and 
attention, and habit-forming. 

(2) Text-book Lessons. — In text-book lessons the work 
which has been assigned to the class and which the 
pupils have studied under the general supervision of the 
teacher, is continued in the recitation lesson with the 
teacher as a member of the group, a "chairman of the 
discussion," an inspirer of thought. If the recitation 
lesson is to be "a thinking exercise and an opportunity 
for the expression of thought," it must conform to the 
nature of the teaching-learning process and be governed 
by its laws as described in Chapters XVIII and XIX. 
The activities of the class under the guidance of the 



372 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

teacher in the recitation lesson will naturally take the 
following forms: 

(a) Reporting and Checking the Results of the Study 
Lesson. — There is great danger of waste of time in text- 
book study because of the fact that the text-book, as its 
name implies, is only the barest epitome of the subject 
treated, a condensed statement, a mere summary, is, in 
reality, only a book of answers. Unless the pupils have 
been safeguarded against wrong habits of study by a 
careful assignment of the lesson, they will read in the 
text-books the answers to problems in geography, his- 
tory, physiology, and other studies without as much as 
even thinking the problems — a perfectly stupid perform- 
ance. It is obvious that to avoid such a disaster educa- 
tionally teachers must not insist overmuch on the words 
or even the "substance" of the text-book, but in the 
recitation period should give pupils the opportunity to 
report on their individual reading, to answer specific 
questions or discuss special topics assigned to them, and 
to exhibit any outlines, maps, charts, or processes which 
they have been asked to prepare. This is a testing and 
checking-up process in which the class takes an active 
part, not so much a test of knowledge as a lost of the 
pupiPs effectiveness in study, his zeal in gathering data 
and consulting sources of information, his ability to 
arrange and organize material, his use of the knowledge 
that he already possesses, and his initiative and power 
to execute. For all this portion of the class work the 
proper stimuli are the interest, attention, questions, sug- 
gestion, and criticisms of classmates and teacher. 

(b) Gatiiering Additional Data. — Having ascertained 
the combined results of the study lesson, the class and 
the teacher may find that they do not have sufficient 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 373 

data to solve the problem that forms the aim of the 
lesson. If the recitation is to proceed as a thinking ex- 
ercise the only right thing to do is to seek for additional 
data. The chief means used here as stimuli are: (i) 
Teaching, or developing questions; (2) the use of ob- 
jects, either bringing them into the school-room or tak- 
ing the children to the objects; (3) illustrations by means 
of charts, maps, pictures, views, slides; (4) the use of 
the pupil's motor activities through drawing, painting, 
dramatizing, cutting, making, modelling, and all kinds 
of handwork; (5) appropriate details in the form of ex- 
planations, stories, legends, and descriptions; (6) calling 
frequently for summaries and recapitulations. 

The responses of the pupils must at every step dove- 
tail with these stimuli used by the teacher. There must 
be no distractions, no wandering from the subject, no 
guessing, no foolish answers, no superficial perception, 
no haziness of images. The mental activity of all pupils 
in the class must correspond to the external means, or 
stimuli, used by the teacher to arouse and direct their 
thinking. Under the spur of interest and the strong 
natural tendency to react in an appropriate manner to 
every sensory stimulus, the pupils should lose all sense 
of embarrassment and self-consciousness, and give them- 
selves heartily to the work. They should be so entirely 
natural and fearless as to undertake anything suggested 
by the teacher in the way of dramatizing, drawing, paint- 
ing, modelling, cutting, and making. Thus teacher and 
pupils think and feel and work together, and the stream 
of thought grows broader and deeper as the recitation 
moves onward. 

In this phase of the teaching-learning process the 
teacher must apply the laws of aim, sense-impression, 



374 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

motor reaction, self-activity, apperception, and in- 
terest and attention. These laws should be reviewed 
here. 

(c) Comparing and Sifting Data and Trying to Fit the 
Material into the Plan for Solving the Problem. — When 
the class have acquired sufficient data to serve as a sure 
foundation for the solution of their problem, their think- 
ing will take the form of comparing and judging, and of 
"trial and error " attempts to fit their data into their 
plan. Their new ideas must be sifted, arranged, com- 
pared with one another and with the old ideas in the 
pupils' experience. Comparison is the fundamental 
process in all thinking. 

There are three stages in thought. These stages are 
conception, judgment, and reasoning. Where the ma- 
terials compared are sensations, percepts, and images, 
the result of the act of comparison is a minor concept or 
some particular judgment. In the second stage of 
thought concepts are compared and a larger concept or 
a more inclusive judgment is reached; while in the third 
stage of thought the mind compares two judgments and 
from their relation to each other derives a new judg- 
ment. Thus comparison is present in every stage of the 
thinking process. 

The laws of teaching especially involved here are self- 
activity, sense-perception, interest, apperception. The 
powers appealed to are perception, memory, comparison, 
abstraction, and judgment. The work of the teacher is 
to suggest standards of comparison and correct units of 
measure^ to help pupils to distinguish superficial quali- 
ties from essential ones, to see that the conclusions of 
the pupils are based upon actual comparison and judg- 
ment, to encourage pupils to correct their own false con- 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 375 

elusions by closer attention to details and a re-examina- 
tion of materials, and to connect ideas by the higher 
thought relations of similarity, design, cause, and effect 
rather than by mere contiguity in time and space. 

The laws of the association of ideas are based upon 
fundamental facts. These facts are that ideas tend to 
group themselves together in the mind by means of 
definite thought relations, and that any one of the ideas 
in such a group tends to suggest the others. Related 
ideas flock together as " birds of a feather" are said to 
do. The purpose of comparison is to discover thought 
relations between ideas, and to associate similar ideas 
with each other, causes with effects, parts with wholes, 
so that these ideas may be easily retained in the memory. 
Great care should be taken by the teacher that pupils 
may find out for themselves these thought relations, and 
feel the joy of original discovery. 

In all judging and reasoning, units of comparison are 
necessary. These units are acquired at first through 
perception and actual experience. To furnish pupils 
with accurate, definite units of comparison in the vari- 
ous branches of study is a most important part of the 
work of early education. These units serve the pupil as 
standards by which he measures all new ideas. Accu- 
racy of judgment depends upon having accurate units of 
comparison and knowing how to apply them. Thus 
there are fixed standards of value, size, weight, color, 
taste, and conduct. These standards are expressed in 
definitions, tables, rules, maxims, laws, proverbs. In 
comparison the pupil measures the new ideas presented 
to him by means of these old standards, notes agree- 
ments and differences, picks out the essential qualities 
and rejects the unessential, and thus centres the atten- 



376 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

tion on a few important qualities that are common to a 
class. 

(d) Discovering Thought Relations and Principles. — 
Having acquired sufficient data and discovered what 
they can use and what must be rejected to further the 
plan they have in mind, pupils are ready to form a gen- 
eral concept, rule, or principle, and to state it in their 
own language. This is inference, or generalization, and 
is the crowning act of inductive thinking. This general 
concept or principle should constitute the answer to the 
problem or project proposed in the assignment as the 
aim or sub-aim of the lesson. If the thinking of the 
class has been skilfully guided, this general principle has 
been approached so naturally that pupils readily grasp 
its meaning and are able to express it clearly. The 
teacher must see that they do this, and no matter how 
crude the first statements of the pupil may be, the 
teacher must not "put the words into his mouth" nor 
permit him to hide behind the excuse that he " knows it 
but cannot tell it." Inability to express a truth in words 
is nearly always due to a lack of clear ideas. 

The laws of induction, aim, and self-activity are prom- 
inent here. The pupil's powers of inference, imagina- 
tion, reasoning, and expression must be active. The 
teacher should require clear, definite, concise statements 
of the central truth, correct any misconceptions by re- 
tracing briefly the preceding steps, criticise incomplete 
statements, require a better statement on the part of 
the pupil, and encourage pupils to verify their conclu- 
sions. Any definition or statement that the pupil makes 
for himself is better than one committed out of hand 
from the book. Agassiz said: "The poorest service you 
can render a pupil is to give him a ready-made defini- 
tion." 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 377 

General truths acquired in the manner outlined in 
this discussion become the permanent possession of the 
pupil They are the keys that unlock for him the doors 
of the temple of truth. They are of broad application; 
they serve as the means of apperceiving new ideas; they 
serve as units of comparison and classification. Of course 
the character and breadth of the generalizations reached 
in any recitation vary greatly with the age and advance- 
ment of the pupils. It is absurd to expect little children 
to reason like philosophers or to master in a few lessons 
great principles and laws that a Newton or an Agassiz 
required a lifetime to formulate. A truth, a judgment, 
or a law may be general as applied to one set of facts,, 
but may itself be included under a more comprehensive 
judgment. Whatever the generalization may be, it 
should be capable of immediate application by the pupils. 

(e) Verifying Principles and Applying Them to New 
Situations. — So far the method of instruction here out- 
lined has been mainly inductive. Step by step the pu- 
pils have thought their way from percepts to a concept; 
from a number of different objects with very many re- 
semblances and differences to a definition including only 
such qualities as are common and essential to the whole 
group ; from a mass of apparently isolated facts to a law 
that connects them all; from particular cases that are 
seemingly dissimilar to a principle of unity based on 
their common characteristics. But as soon as these defi- 
nitions, concepts, laws, or principles have been acquired 
by the pupil inductively, he must reverse the direction 
of his thinking and apply them to concrete cases, par- 
ticular facts, events, and relations. This is deduction, 
and the teaching-learning process is not complete with- 
out it. To omit it is like building a beautiful palace 
and leaving the most important room unfinished, or like 



378 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

stopping midway on a journey to secure a rich treasure."* 
Indeed the mere acquisition of definitions, laws, rules, 
and principles without constantly applying them to the 
facts of one's actual environment and the needs of daily 
life produces a form of helplessness, inefficiency, and 
positive stupidity not unlike that of the abuse of the old 
scholastic philosophy. 

Many students learn high-sounding phrases, memorize 
formulas in arithmetic and algebra, glibly repeat impor- 
tant principles in science, wise maxims in history, and 
lofty rules of ethics who can neither illustrate nor apply 
them, nor even suggest the data from which they are 
derived. A definition can have very little meaning to a 
pupil until he applies it to concrete cases. The law of 
gravitation is little more to the pupil than a dead formula 
until he learns to trace its application in descending rain 
and flowing rivers, in ebbing tides and falling bodies. 
The operations and applications of percentage will mean 
little more to the student than senseless juggling with 
figures, unless he sees that they are merely new ways of 
applying the principles that he learned in multiplication 
and fractions. Verifying their conclusions reached 
through inductive thinking by applying them to solve 
new problems, pupils are able to revise and perfect such 
conclusions and review old knowledge. Such application 
reveals the relation of knowledge gained in school to the 
needs of daily life; it brings to light any defects or weak- 
ness in the pupil's knowledge by putting it to the test of 
use. Such application is a constant incentive to experi- 
ment, expression through action, and original discovery 
through which pupils acquire the sense of conscious power 
and the mastery of things. Application also offers the 
best opportunity for the formation of habits and the con- 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 379 

version of knowledge into power and skill through ra- 
tional and persistent drill work. 

As to the form that application may take, there is 
endless variety if the teacher has the skill to encourage 
and direct pupils in turning their knowledge to account 
as fast as they acquire it. The knowledge gained in one 
lesson should find immediate application in learning the 
next lessons. Definitions and rules in language and 
grammar should be immediately and consistently applied 
to the pupil's oral and written discourse. Tables and 
principles learned in arithmetic lessons must find con- 
stant application in actual measuring, weighing, valuing, 
and making, and to the solution of new problems. The 
pupil's mastery of geographical facts should be turned to 
account in explaining the physical features, climate, 
products, and occupations of his own neighborhood and 
country. Laws of hygiene should find their application 
in the care of the school-room, the seating, lighting, care 
of the eyes, and in the pupil's care of his own body. The 
application of the moral ideals, maxims, and percepts 
gleaned from literature, biography, and history should 
inspire pupils to better daily conduct and nobler living. 
Thus in the immediate application of these general truths 
knowledge becomes power and culture is wedded to 
utility. 

The laws of teaching prominent here are deduction, 
apperception, motor reaction, and habit-forming. 

(f) Planning the Next Study Lesson. — The final class 
activity of the recitation lesson is to share with the 
teacher in planning the work of the next study lesson. 
Any tactful and competent teacher can well afford to 
make the pupils active partners in selecting and planning 
the work for the next lesson or series of lessons. In 



3S0 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

attacking a large project, or method-unit, the entire time 
of one recitation period may with profit be used to work 
out the plan to be followed. The laws of teaching-learn- 
ing that should guide the teacher in making the assign- 
ments of lessons are aim, apperception, interest, and 
self-activity. The teacher should review the old lessons 
which lead up to the new problem or project to be stud- 
ied, guide the thought of the class in formulating the 
general aim and the separate lesson aims, see to it that 
each pupil or group is given some specific work to do, 
suggest sources of information, and provide a natural 
setting for the problem by relating it to home or com- 
munity interests and activities. All these matters have 
been presented in Chapter XXII. 

Aids to Method, or Teaching Devices. — Throughout 
this discussion of method in teaching it has been assumed 
that, to be effective, method must be adapted to the age 
and advancement of the pupils, the subject-matter, and 
the environment of the school. Such adaptation implies 
the use of teaching devices and expedients. Chief among 
such aids to method are: (i) The text-books; (2) ques- 
tioning, both testing and developing questions; (3) illus- 
trations, including those that appeal to the ear, the eye, 
and the hand; (4) problems, projects, and topics; (5) 
tests, drills, reviews, examinations; (6) explanations, 
demonstrations, experiments; (7) examples and exercises; 
(8) excursions, visits to factories, farms, and public 
buildings; (9) outlines, reports, summaries, note-books; 
(10) conversation, discussion, debates, dramatization. 
By the judicious use of these devices the teacher can in- 
troduce endless variety into the recitation. Thus, al- 
though the aim and method of the recitation remain the 
same from beginning to end, its form is varying con- 



METHOD IN TEACHING THE LESSON 381 

stantly. Here the teacher's individuality, skill, scholar- 
ship, and power of invention have full play. Finally, no 
teacher can afford to deceive himself as to the real rela- 
tion between method and personality, as Rein says: "No 
natural educator is so gifted through divine favor from 
the beginning as to be able to reach the highest results 
entirely without the aid of all methodical schooling, and 
there will never be a method so wonderful as to be able 
to supplant the power of strong personality. Therefore, 
the educator who undertakes his office in earnest will 
constantly direct his attention to the perfection of 
method of instruction, and at the same time labor to 
develop and perfect his own personality, because so many 
factors that are important for the success of direct in- 
struction depend upon his conduct, his example, and his. 
appearance." 

The Stream of Thought in the Recitation. — There is a 
remarkable chapter in James's "Psychology," entitled 
"The Stream of Consciousness," in which he says: "Con- 
sciousness, then, does not appear to itself chopped up in 
bits. Such words as chain or train do not describe it 
fitly as it presents itself in the first instance. It is noth- 
ing jointed; it flows. A river or a stream are the meta- 
phors by which it is most naturally described. In talk- 
ing of it hereafter, let us call it the stream of thought, of 
consciousness, or of subjective life." Now the recita- 
tion is merely a portion of this ever-flowing stream. 
But to be a stream at all it must have direction and cur- 
rent and be confined in certain definite limits by banks. 
Teachers and pupils must think together toward the 
same aim; and the teacher must not attempt to do for 
the pupils what they should do for themselves — perceive, 
compare, abstract, select, associate, reflect, verify, apply. 



382 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

So shall the stream of each pupil's consciousness increase 
in depth, clearness, power, and sweetness. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Stevenson, "The Project Method of Teaching"; Bonser, 
"The Elementary School Curriculum," chaps. VI, VII, IX; 
Bagley, "Classroom Management," chap. XIII; White, "The 
Art of Teaching," chaps. V, IX, X, XII; Keith, "Elementary 
Education," chaps. VIII, IX; Strayer, "A Brief Course in the 
Teaching Process," chaps. V, VI; Dewey, "Democracy and 
Education," chap. XIII; C. A. McMurry, "Teaching by Proj- 
ects," chaps. Ill, XIII; E. C. Moore, "What Is Education?" 
chaps. VII, VIII; Sears, "Classroom Organization and Control," 
chaps. XIII, XIV; O'Shea, "Everyday Problems in Teaching," 
chaps. IV, V; Bennett, "School Efficiency," chap. XXIII; Betts, 
"Classroom Method and Management," chaps. I, II, III, XXI; 
Davis, "The Work of the Teacher," chap. VII; Charters, 
"Teaching the Common Branches," chaps. XVI, XVII; Ear- 
hart, "Types of Teaching," chap. IX; Bagley, "The Educative 
Process," chaps. XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI; Turner, "Essentials 
of Good Teaching"; Parker, General Methods of Teaching in 
Elementary Schools." 



PART IV 

THE TEACHER AS TRAINER 

CHAPTER XXV 
TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 

All Effective Education Implies Training. — A brief 

summary of the process of growth and development of 
children which underlies all education will show clearly 
that training must constitute a very important element 
in such development, (i) The starting-point of all de- 
velopment and education of the child is instinct, native 
impulses, and reactions through which his inner tenden- 
cies, desires, ideas, and motives produce results in his 
outer world; (2) development, or growth, includes (a) 
increase in bulk, (b) increase in complexity, or perfection 
of organization and corresponding efficiency; (3) devel- 
opment is produced in one way and one way only — by 
exercise of function; (4) the continued neglect or disuse 
of any organ weakens the organ, decreases its power to 
function, and may result in its atrophy or disappearance; 
(5) the amount of development possible in any individual 
child depends upon (a) heredity, or original outfit, (b) 
opportunities for exercise, (c) the use made of such op- 
portunities; (6) the kind of exercise required to develop 
the child must be in harmony with his nature and in 
proportion to his strength — all other exercise is harmful; 
(7) the most effective development can be secured only 
by the training of the whole child by means of specific 

383 



384 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

exercises for the body, the senses, the hands, the intel- 
lect, the emotions, the will, the moral nature. 

The mere statement of this process of the child's de- 
velopment reveals the supreme importance of the teach- 
er's function as trainer. 

Nature of Training. — To train is to form by instruc- 
tion and practice. Training is causing to act efficiently; 
it involves doing under guidance, self-expression directed 
toward definite results, drill and practice with a "will 
to win," repeated attempts to do a thing better. A 
trainer is one who by means of a systematic course of 
instruction and practice modifies a living organism ac- 
cording to a definite plan. The purpose of training is 
the unfolding of power and the acquisition of skill. 
Training must begin with the body, the senses, the hand. 
The mind acquires skill only through the mastery of the 
body. The pupil must learn to control his muscles be- 
fore he can acquire control of his ideas. Exercise is the 
great law that underlies and conditions all training. 
The work of the trainer is not so much the giving of in- 
formation as calling into vigorous use the powers of the 
pupil. " Giving object-lessons" is a misnomer, for the 
true purpose of all such lessons is to make the pupils 
skilful in studying objects. 

There is no effective teaching where instruction is not 
accompanied by training. It is altogether too common 
a practice in our schools to teach geography from maps 
and books alone, with no reference to real rivers, hills, 
cities, and people, arithmetic as a system of rules, gram- 
mar as a mass of abstract definitions, geometry as a series 
of demonstrations to be memorized, and Latin classics 
as mere parsing exercises. Recitations are too often 
weak attempts to reproduce the words of the text-book 



TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 385 

and examinations a test of how much a pupil has remem- 
bered. Standings are determined by marks and students 
are ranked by percentages. But the tests of knowledge 
that the world applies to the student are these: What 
can he do ? Has he good judgment and common sense ? 
Has he good habits ? Is he energetic, persevering, self- 
reliant, honest? Has he learned how to care for his 
health? Can he work without constant oversight and 
without shirking and bear hardship without whining? 
Does he do what he is told to do or simply make excuses 
for not doing it? 

Training enables the learner to make a ready and sure 
application of his knowledge to the needs of daily life, 
transforms information into mastery, science into skill, 
theory into practice. A student who cannot both speak 
and write well has not been trained in language no mat- 
ter how much of grammar, composition, rhetoric, or 
Latin he may have studied. 

Results of the Neglect of Training in Modern Educa- 
tion. — " Train up a child in the way he should go, and 
when he is old he will not depart from it," was a proverb 
before the days of Solomon. In Mulcaster's time it was 
perfectly good English to speak of the education of the 
children as the " train" and the teacher as the " trainer." 
And it is a painful proof of the verbal formalism and 
memory-cramming of our school instruction that the 
word "teacher" has come to be used to designate the 
instructor of children only, while the word "trainer" is 
applied to one who instructs animals. The marvellous 
results of such intelligent training of animals may be 
seen in any travelling circus. 

The results of this neglect of training in our modern 
schools are everywhere painfully apparent in the pre- 



386 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

vailing helplessness of children to use in a practical way 
the knowledge they have gained in school, in the ex- 
treme facility with which they seem to forget the in- 
struction received in the class-room, in their utter lack of 
any permanent interest in science, history, or good lit- 
erature, and in their unwillingness to do even as well as 
they know how to do. 

Everywhere there is an insistent demand that our 
schools shall not only instruct children in things intellec- 
tual, but train them in doing and in conduct — train their 
senses in perceiving and their hands in working, train 
them in habits of health, in right attitudes and appre- 
ciations, in civic righteousness, in social efficiency, and 
in living the ideals of morality and character. And 
there is abundant evidence that the public schools are 
responding to this insistent demand for such training. 
The rapidly growing use of the terms health training, 
vocational training, sense training, civic training, and 
character training is evidence that the old meaning is 
being restored to the words "train" and " trainer," and 
that there is a clear recognition of the great truths that 
use, or functioning, modifies organ, that knowing right 
and doing right must develop together, that good habits 
and moral character are not formed by instruction alone, 
but by instruction plus training. 

Indeed all great educational reformers have empha- 
sized this very truth. The course of study proposed by 
Comenius included sense training, weighing, singing, 
drawing, physical training, and handicrafts. Rousseau 
declared that a child's first teachers are his feet, hands, 
and eyes. Pestalozzi taught that knowledge is of no 
value unless it has a basis of action, and that while it is 
well for a child to learn something, the really important 



TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 387 

thing for him is to be something. Froebel also based his 
whole system of primary education upon the pupil's self- 
activity under proper instruction and guidance. And 
Horace Mann said: " Unfortunately, education amongst 
us at present consists too much in telling, not in training.' ' 

The Fallacy of the Old View of Formal Discipline. — 
Wise training always implies gradual change and im- 
provement in some specific capacity or power of the 
pupil, accompanied by greater skill and efficiency in ac- 
tion in some particular line. That training one mental 
power will improve all the other mental powers is true 
only in the degree in which such training includes com- 
mon elements. The same muscles are used in rowing a 
boat as in sawing wood, but sawing wood does not de- 
velop skill in rowing a boat. The training of the eye 
does not greatly improve the hearing. The immense 
gulf that often exists between knowing and doing mea- 
sures the difference between teaching and training. It 
is easier to "tell twenty what 'twere good to do than to 
be one of the twenty" to put the teaching into practice. 
Children in Sunday-school may learn the Ten Com- 
mandments, but if their conduct in the church has been 
marked by disorder, levity, irreverence, and disrespect 
for teachers, they have, in reality, taken a lesson in 
immorality. Boys may learn from books and teachers 
the harmful effects of tobacco and actually light their 
cigarettes on the school-house steps. That is a startling 
definition of sin which the apostle James gives in the 
words: " Therefore to him that knoweth to do good and 
doeth it not to him it is sin." 

Training in Right Habits Must Accompany Instruc- 
tion. — Character, then, is not formed by teaching alone; 
action, practice, persistent training in the formation of 



388 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

specific habits are essential. And these habits must be 
formed early in life; for "as the twig is bent the tree is 
inclined." 

Professor James says: "The great thing, then, in all 
education is to fund and capitalize our acquisitions, and 
live at ease upon the interest of the fund. For this we 
must make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, 
as many useful actions as we can, and guard against the 
growing into ways likely to be disadvantageous to us as 
we should guard against the plague. The more of the 
details of our daily life we can hand over to the effortless 
custody of automatism the more the higher powers of 
mind will be set free for their own proper work." 

Specific habits are formed by actions repeated until 
they become more or less automatic. The sum total of 
all these habits constitutes one's character and deter- 
mines his conduct. The formation of habits changes 
every kind of function, performed at first slowly and 
awkwardly, into graceful and rapid action performed 
with ease and certainty. Radestock says: " Children are 
not to be taught by maxims that continually slip from 
their memory. Whatever we believe they must impera- 
tively do we should strengthen them in doing by un- 
wearied practice, whenever the opportunity offers, and 
if possible create opportunities therefor." Plato taught 
that the impressions that a child receives in childhood 
are the most important, as they are the more easily im- 
pressed and are retained best; for what is practised from 
youth up gradually forms part of the character. And 
Herbert Spencer said: "Not by precept, though it be 
daily heard; not by example, unless it be followed; but 
only through action, which is often called forth by the 
related feeling, can a moral habit be formed." 



TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 389 

To say that the aim of all education is to build char- 
acter sounds very fine, but it is too large a concept, too 
indefinite and intangible an aim to be effective in the 
daily work of the school-room, Besides, such an aim 
seems far away, a dim and hazy future possibility to be 
realized in some mysterious way when pupils are grown- 
up folks. But there is nothing mysterious or indefinite 
about forming a specific habit. It can be named, set 
up as an immediate and definite aim, the nervous system 
set into action, repetition demanded, drill enforced, im- 
provement noted till the process is complete. It is thus 
that the specific habits that make up character are 
formed through intelligent training. It is in this way 
and only in this way that children acquire the habits 
that fit them to five in a civilized community; for in this 
way they acquire correct habits of speech, habitual atti- 
tudes of body, tones of voice, personal cleanliness, man- 
ners, neatness, accuracy, system in work, prompt obe- 
dience, kindness, honesty, and regard for duty. Could 
teachers but realize that if they take care of the habits 
formed by the pupils the character of the pupils will 
take care of itself, and could they have the vision to see 
how inevitably children become mere bundles of walking 
habits, they would give greater heed to this most im- 
portant work of the elementary school — the forming of 
right habits, training children to make their nervous sys- 
tem their ally instead of their enemy. 

What I wish to emphasize is that teachers should view 
the whole of education as a process of forming habits; 
that children are born with a nervous system capable of 
acquiring good habits almost as easily as bad ones; that 
unless the nervous system of the child is trained to be 
his willing servant it will in maturity be his cruel master; 



390 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

that in early school life habits grow largely out of in- 
stincts and suggestions, so that during this period train- 
ing to act is even more essential than teaching to know; 
that helping the child to build up specific right habits 
and guarding him against bad ones is the only way to 
form character; that since the formation of right habits 
is so largely a matter of guidance, practice, and atten- 
tion, the child, if given the proper assistance, can shape 
his character almost as he wills. 

The School Cannot Evade Responsibility for Moral 
Training. — There are still some teachers and superin- 
tendents who attempt to shirk all responsibility for the 
instruction and training of their pupils in morality and 
religion. They seek to justify their conduct on the 
grounds that all moral and religious education should be 
given in the home, the Sunday-school, and the church, 
that such instruction is " sectarian," and that the schools 
are maintained for intellectual education alone. It is 
hard to see how such statements can be made an excuse 
for evading responsibility in the moral and religious 
training of pupils in the school in the face of the dem- 
onstrated facts that mere intellectual education is not a 
sufficient safeguard against immoral conduct; that ten 
thousand homicides occur in the United States every 
year; that crime and delinquency in our nation cost 
more than education; that millions of children live in 
homes that are morally bankrupt, never go to Sunday- 
school or church, and that the public schools are their 
only chance to secure moral education; that the child's 
life cannot be split up into three separate and distinct 
forms of activity and labelled physical, intellectual, and 
moral; that morality and character are not mere abstrac- 
tions or dogmas or sentiments to be acquired after school 



TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 391 

education is finished; and that no teacher can help teach- 
ing morality or immorality in every class through his 
own methods of instruction, ideals, moral standards, 
conduct, and personality. In "Moral Principles in Ed- 
ucation," Dr. Dewey writes: "There cannot be two sets 
of ethical principles, one for life in the school and the 
other for life outside of the school. . . . The moral 
responsibility of the school, and of those who conduct 
it, is to society. The school is fundamentally an insti- 
tution erected by society to do a certain specific work — 
to exercise a certain specific function in maintaining the 
life and advancing the welfare of society. The educa- 
tional system which does not recognize that this fact en- 
tails upon it an ethical responsibility is derelict and a 
defaulter. It is not doing what it was called into exist- 
ence to do, and what it pretends to do." 

Sources of Material for Character Education. — The 
materials for moral education in the school are rich, 
varied, and close at hand. They include all of life both 
in the school and out of it; all science and history and 
literature; all school duties and activities; all current 
history, community interests, and social reforms. 

In 19 1 6-1 7 a prize of $5,000 was offered by a promi- 
nent business man for the best "Children's Code of 
Morals." The prize was offered for the sake of getting 
a decision as to what moral ideals intelligent public 
opinion believes should be taught to children. The win- 
ning code was submitted by Prof. W. J. Hutchins, of 
Oberlin College, and is available for use by all teachers. 

Methods of Moral Instruction and Training. — The 
method of character teaching may be: (1) Direct, that 
is, at definite and regular class periods, following a well- 
mapped-out course of study; (2) indirect, or incidental 



392 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

instruction; (3) a combination of both direct and indi- 
rect teaching. The purpose of all such instruction is to 
help the pupil to build up a well-organized body of ethi- 
cal knowledge, to reveal the fundamental elements of 
character as responsiveness to moral appeals, individual 
adjustment to social requirements, the recognition of the 
supremacy of natural law in the universe and of moral 
law among men, and of our personal relation to these 
laws. 

In 1918 the donor of the prize for the best "Children's 
Code of Morals" offered a second prize of $20,000 for 
the best public-school method for character education 
for children and youth. The plan of the work and the 
award of the prize were to be under the direction and 
control of the Character Education Institution, of Wash- 
ington, D. C. Four hundred thirty- two professional 
educators, nine from each State, were appointed to study 
the problem of method in character education in the 
public school. The research work was carried on for 
three years by the various State committees. 

In announcing the plan of work to the State commit- 
tees, the chairman of the National Institution for Moral 
Instruction said: "Generation after generation our re- 
public will need a mass of citizens whose purposes and 
ambitions are in accord with the national standards and 
traditions and the ever-expanding ideals of civilization. 
It is character education of the nation's children that 
can achieve this result. The children of each genera- 
tion begin! life ignorant of the wisdom of moral experi- 
ence, and have to learn to do right — to speak the truth, 
to be kindly to all, to do their share of the work, to love 
justice, and to serve the good of the nation as a whole 
in true patriotism." 

Among the problems of moral instruction to be studied 



TRAINING IN IDEALS AND CHARACTER 393 

were these: (i) How to get children to understand and 
appreciate the wisdom of moral experience? (2) How 
to develop personal conviction in matters of morality in 
the minds of children themselves and the will to live up 
to their convictions ? (3) How to help children to form 
character habits ? (4) How to correlate school and home 
life so as to influence character development together? 
(5) What character education should be given teachers 
themselves as a personal influence over character devel- 
opment in children ? (6) How shall teachers be enlight- 
ened as to the moral ideas to be inculcated, and how 
trained to efficiency in the use of methods of character 
education ? 

The result of the competitive research work carried on 
by the State committees was announced March 1, 1922, 
and the prize of $20,000 for the best set of plans and 
methods for character education was awarded to the 
Iowa State committee, of which Prof. Edwin D. Star- 
buck, of the Iowa State University, was chairman. 

The plan as prepared by the committee does not pre- 
sent a moral programme to be superadded to the regular 
curriculum, but points out ways and means of securing 
greater moral results from the regular studies. It also 
advocates that the moral curriculum "busy itself with 
problems, projects, and actual situations rather than 
with 'virtues.'" A skeleton outline of character- train- 
ing " projects" for each grade and each season of the 
year is presented. 

The National Institution for Moral Instruction has 
planned to make all the sets of plans and methods sub- 
mitted by the various State committees in their compe- 
tition for the $20,000 prize available to all teachers and 
others interested in moral education. 



394 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

The crowning results of moral instruction should be 
the development in the pupils of a dominating life ideal 
of the sort of men or women that they aspire to become, 
an enthusiasm for noble living, a zeal in forming the 
habits that make moral ideals and principles effective in 
all of life's relations. How the forming of such habits 
constitutes the real essence of character training will be 
the topic of the next chapter. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Dewey, "Moral Principles in Education"; Thorndike, "Prin- 
ciples of Teaching," chap. XV; Bagley, "The Educative Proc- 
ess," ; chaps. XIII, XXII; Whitney, "Moral Education," 
chaps.' I, V; White, "The Art of Teaching," chaps. VII, VIII; 
Drummond, "The Greatest Thing in the World"; Palmer, 
"Ethical and Moral Instruction in Schools"; Bobbitt, "The 
Curriculum," chap. XIII. 



CHAPTER XXVI 
HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 

Advantages of Habits. — It will be very helpful to the 
teacher to keep in mind some of the ways in which hab- 
its, once acquired, will make the work of the pupils more 
efficient. 

(i) Habits Save Power and Lessen Fatigue. — By right 
practice the pupil learns how to select the muscles neces- 
sary to perform an act most efficiently and to inhibit the 
action of all other muscles. He also learns the amount 
of force necessary in the performance of an act, and thus 
avoids the waste of energy. Thus aimless and unregu- 
lated movements are gradually trained into definite and 
co-ordinate ones, as in writing, drawing, reading, singing, 
and maintaining right attitudes of body. To learn to do 
one thing accurately the pupil must abstain from doing 
other things at the same time. The vital power uselessly 
employed in aimless movements not only creates disorder 
in the school-room, but subtracts so much from the pu- 
pil's power to concentrate his attention upon his lesson. 

Habit enables the memory to retain and reproduce with 
ease and certainty what was at first repeated with great 
effort and hesitation. Through practice the imagination 
needs only a cue to foresee the result of a familiar process. 
The judgment becomes quick and sure when dealing with 
familiar thought-materials. Sound conclusions can be 
reached by " short-cut " methods when those conclusions 
involve only oft-repeated ideas. Reasoning becomes a 
rapid and easy process when the premises are based upon 

395 



396 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

objects often compared, and inference almost intuition. 
With constant and firm guidance and control, pupils soon 
learn to obey without murmuring and to comply cheerfully 
with all the necessary requirements of the school, thus 
saving an immense amount of nervous energy which under 
an incompetent teacher is worse than wasted in irritation, 
fretting, fear, and chronic inward rebellion. 

As actions are repeated they find the lines of least 
resistance, tend to become reflex, and hence are per- 
formed with increasingly greater accuracy, rapidity, facil- 
ity, and pleasure. These four words spell skill. In be- 
coming skill, an action requires less physical force, less 
attention, less supervision. Learning to walk, talk, swim, 
ride, skate, play a piano, all illustrate these facts. It is 
evident that the energy and power of whatever kind ^thus 
saved is set free to conquer more complex processes or 
to acquire new knowledge. 

(2) Habits Strengthen Power. — Exercise is the funda- 
mental law of growth of any kind. Every one knows that 
this law applies to all our physical powers; but few realize 
that to be strong perceivers we must perceive, to be strong 
in memory we must remember, to be strong in judgment 
we must think, and to be strong in virtue we must be 
trained in right-doing. The marvellous ability of the 
painter to distinguish colors, of musicians to distinguish 
sounds, of blind people to know the world through touch 
are the results of untiring practice — simply habit. Thus 
through carefully graded exercises, adapted at every stage 
to his increasing powers, the pupil in the school goes on 
from strength to strength, in language from primer to 
Shakespeare, in mathematics from numbers to calculus, 
and in geography from his school-yard to the uttermost 
bounds of the earth; and the last lesson is no harder for 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 397 

him than the first. Thus habit widens the circle of the 
pupil's knowledge and increases his capacities. 

(3) Habits Conserve Knowledge. — When we speak of 
"storing up knowledge," what we really mean is that cer- 
tain brain cells have acquired the habit of repeating a 
previous action, of working to-day as they worked yester- 
day. Consciousness is always a personal affair. Ideas 
have no existence except in some conscious mind. Sensa- 
tions modify brain cells, and, if often repeated, they change 
such cells in structure. When the objects causing the 
sensations are removed, the brain cells tend to act as they 
have acted before. The result in consciousness is not a 
sensation nor a percept, but a memory image that serves 
as a symbol for the previous experiences of sensation and 
perception. Thus memory is the mind working in the 
same way it has worked before, that is, a result of the 
habits acquired by brain cells. In this sense habits are 
sometimes defined as the "memory of the brain and spinal 
cord," and we gladly turn over to them all the thousand 
little necessary actions of our daily life, our walking, 
dressing, undressing, writing, spelling, selecting what we 
shall eat or drink, and what particular act in a series we 
shall perform next. 

Moreover, ideas are acquired in a definite order of time 
and space, and such ideas tend to suggest each other be- 
cause of the associated action of certain brain cells and 
the tendency of these brain cells to repeat their action in the 
original way. Thus a child's memory is at first ruled by 
the primary law of contiguity. As he grows older, the 
secondary laws of association, such as similarity, re- 
cency, interest, and voluntary attention enable him to vary 
the sequence of his memory images. This power of pre- 
serving and restoring past experiences at will is the great 



398 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

conserver of our individual ideas and even our sense of 
personal identity. 

The conservative power of habits in society is apparent. 
It keeps the student at his books, the lawyer at his desk, 
the farmer at his task, the workers in mine and shop and 
factory at their weary round of daily toil. Laws, customs, 
castes, institutions, religions, race distinctions are the 
habits of society. They are the social safeguards just as 
personal and professional habits are the safeguards of the 
individual. 

Dangers of Habits. — The tendency of the nervous system 
to repeat actions, to form grooves in the brain, has also 
its dangers. These dangers are so real and so great that 
they justify ail that has been said as to the importance of 
forming good habits, all the warning against evil ways that 
parents and teachers can impress upon the minds of the 
young. How difficult it is to change the habits of society 
the fate of prophets, martyrs, and reformers proves. Only 
through wars and terrible conflicts are undesirable customs 
and social habits changed. And this struggle has its 
counterpart in the life of the individual when he has ad- 
mitted within the gates of his life enemies in the form of 
bad habits — enemies, it may be, that appeared to him at 
first in the guise of friends, gradually acquired the control 
of his will, at last revealed their true nature, and now sap 
his vitality, jeer at his weakness, and ever draw their coils 
more tightly. 

(i) Children May Acquire Bad Habits Through Igno- 
rance. — The child at first is a bundle of instincts and im- 
pulses. These are about as apt to lead him to do wrong 
actions as right ones. But his nervous system is extremely 
plastic and the act, if wrong, leaves as strong a tendency 
in the nerve cells to repeat itself as a right act would leave. 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 399 

Thus, before a child can foresee the results of his actions 
the foundation of a bad habit may be laid; hence his 
imperative need of intelligent guidance by a higher author- 
ity than his own blind instincts. Parents and teachers 
represent this authority, and to this higher authority the 
child must be trained to yield ready and implicit obedience, 
otherwise no principle of order can be introduced into his 
daily acts. It is the duty of parents and teachers to en- 
courage the beginning of good habits, to manipulate the 
child's environment in such a way as to make right-doing 
pleasant and easy, to furnish correct patterns for imitation, 
and to insist on a sufficient amount of practice to fix the 
habit. 

On the other hand, it is equally the duty of those who 
are responsible for the child to shield his mind from vice, 
to keep him away from evil associations, to check the be- 
ginnings of evil, to starve out wrong tendencies, and nip 
in the bud every undesirable emotion. As Thorndike 
says: "Put together what you wish to have go together. 
Reward good impulses. Conversely: keep apart what you 
wish to have separate. Let undesirable impulses bring 
discomfort." 

(2) Habits Must Not Wholly Supplant Judgment. — 
Habits are the conservative power in the life of the indi- 
vidual and of society. But progress always demands 
change, power of adaptation, freedom of personal choice. 
The effect of habit is to render the judgment automatic, to 
lessen the range of adaptation. It is said that to hasten 
the process of habit forming in children is to prevent the 
possibility of their future growth, curtail their power of 
adaptation, weaken their initiative, dull their feelings. 
This is to produce arrested development and make the 
pupil helpless in judgment and weak in will when he is 



400 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

compelled to face new situations in life. This view of the 
dangers of extreme habituation led Rousseau to lay down 
the oft-quoted rule: "The only habit which a child should 
be allowed to form is to contract no habit whatever." But 
such a statement must not be taken too seriously; for it 
was Rousseau also who said: "Education is certainly 
nothing but a habit." The trouble with Rousseau and 
those writers who are afraid that the habits formed by the 
child will stand in the way of his future development and 
curtail his liberty is that they fail to distinguish between 
habits that should be fixed early and for all time and those 
whose purpose is only temporary. There is no danger 
that children will form too early or too well the habits of 
chastity, truthfulness, personal cleanliness, correct articula- 
tion, cheerfulness, reverence, kindness, politeness, honor. 
These habits are always good and only good. On the other 
hand, those habits, like the crying of an infant, the creeping 
of a little child, lining up to enter a school building, un- 
questioning obedience to the authority of parents and 
teachers, serve only a temporary purpose in the develop- 
ment of the child and are subject to change or elimination. 
In short, some habits are formed to meet situations that 
are constant. These habits should become "second 
nature" as early as possible. Other habits are formed to 
meet situations that are constantly changing, and such 
habits always involve an element of judgment and personal 
choice. The teacher must take great pains to foster this 
freedom of choice and exercise of judgment by plays and 
games, by variety of exercises, by the creation of new 
situations, and by the largest possible freedom from re- 
straints consistent with effective discipline. Judgment and 
reflection should be encouraged in every stage of the pupil's 
education. As he acquires greater knowledge and fore- 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 401 

sight, he should be left as free as possible to determine his 
own conduct, to adapt his actions to the circumstances 
that surround him, to choose his friends, and to emancipate 
himself from all sense of external authority through his 
willing loyal obedience to the inner law of conscience and 
duty. The acquisition of habits must include the habit 
of growth, that is, the habit of readaptation to an ever- 
expanding environment. In a few years, at most, the boy 
or girl will be free from the restraints of home, free from the 
control of parent and teacher. He must, therefore, in the 
home and in the school be trained to be a self-governing 
being, to walk without crutches, and to follow freely the 
straight path. Not slavery nor lawlessness should be the 
outcome of training, but liberty under the law, gladly self- 
imposed and faithfully obeyed. 

(3) Bad Habits are Our Worst Enemies. — Bad habits 
are merciless tyrants. Indolence, evil companions, sensa- 
tional literature, sensual pleasures are not fictions but real 
dangers. They promise a good time, popularity, freedom. 
But for the good time they give wounds and misery. For 
health and strength they substitute weakness. For manly 
courage they give the soul of a coward. For promised 
liberty they give chains and slavery, and brand the face, 
the eyes, the brain, the soul with the badge of infamy. 
The libertine, the drunkard, or the opium fiend robs the 
state of a good citizen, robs society of a man, and robs his 
own children of the necessities of life, of education, and of 
a good name. 

Steps in Voluntary Habit Forming. — The teacher as 
trainer should clearly understand the chain of processes 
in the voluntary forming of habits. This chain of proc- 
esses begins (1) in the child's instincts, native tenden- 
cies, and impulses, and as long as the actions resulting 



402 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

from these instincts and tendencies are purely reflex, 
such actions are neither moral nor immoral, but non- 
moral. (2) In all moral actions there must be a choice of 
alternatives. But motives spring out of instincts, de- 
sires, ideas. A motive may be defined as a desire plus 
an image of the thing desired. Any idea upon which 
the child fixes his attention: (a) grows in clearness and 
distinctness; (b) increases in emotional interest, pleasant 
or painful; (c) develops a tendency to motor reaction. 
Thus it is that voluntary attention creates motives, and 
that "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (3) 
Weighing and choosing, or deliberation, is the vital in- 
tellectual element in habit forming. In this process are 
involved comparison, judgment, memory of past ex- 
periences, and the power to foresee the consequences of 
a particular action. No mental process or action has 
been reduced to a habit as long as it requires delibera- 
tion. The pupil who stops to deliberate whether he will 
lie or tell the truth, steal or not steal, comply with the 
rules of the school or break them has not yet acquired 
the habits of truthfulness, honesty, or obedience. Here 
is the real battle-field between the lower self and the 
higher self, and a master stroke in the conflict is to cen- 
tre the attention upon the ideas that lead to the higher 
course of action. To do so is to determine choice. (4) 
Choice is followed by action, immediate or remote. 
The muscles used in the voluntary actions of an adult 
are controlled by the motor areas of the cortex, but this 
control in the case of the child is very imperfect and un- 
certain; hence his first voluntary acts are awkward, hesi- 
tating, and inaccurate. This is illustrated in the pupil's 
first attempts to write, to draw, to sing, or to pronounce 
words at sight. His first efforts require a great deal of 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 403 

attention and nervous energy and are far from skilful. 
Gradually they become more accurate, require less atten- 
tion, arouse less feeling, and finally lapse into a series of 
reflex acts. Such a series of acquired reflex actions con- 
stitutes a habit. (5) Tendency to repetition is the phys- 
iological factor in forming a habit. This tendency is the 
result of action. It is written in the brain cells. The 
nervous system possesses the tendency to repeat auto- 
matically the action it has once performed. Every repe- 
tition increases the power of this tendency. (6) Repeti- 
tion with the desire to improve is the final step in habit 
forming. In training pupils it is important to remember 
that repetition as used here is not a mere blind and un- 
varying process as it is in natural reflex actions and 
instinctive movements. The purpose of repetition in 
teaching children writing, drawing, reading, composition, 
and so on is not to reproduce exactly a previous action, 
but is an attempt to improve on the last action, to image 
the perfect action a little better, to approach a little 
nearer to the ideal set up in the child's mind, to read a 
little more smoothly and expressively, to draw a little 
better picture, to form the letter a little more accurately. 
Such carefully guided, adequately motivated, intelligent, 
and persistent repetition with the ideal of improving on 
previous efforts is the very essence of effective training. 
Habits as Related to Character. — Thus through spe- 
cific instruction and training in the home and the school 
definite habits are formed, and all these habits together 
constitute character. If the child's instruction and train- 
ing have been wise and consistent his life trend is up- 
ward. Little by little he has gained the mastery of his 
lower nature or, more correctly, has transformed his 
primitive instincts into useful habits. Thus every in- 



404 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

stinct, through training, may be made to serve some 
beneficent purpose in the formation of the child's charac- 
ter. None of his capital is useless, none of it should be 
lost. The degrading instinct of fear in the child becomes 
through proper training the habits of caution and pru- 
dence in the man. The hateful outbursts of anger and 
rage in the child are fashioned by the magic wand of 
training into the noble virtues of justice, patriotism, and 
hatred of wrong. The exasperating inquisitiveness and 
curiosity of the child are changed into the unselfish love 
of knowledge. Soon the life is fortified at every point 
with right habits, and the individual becomes so fixed in 
principle, so stable in action, so sure in judgment that 
people trust him, believe in him, and gladly follow where 
he leads. This is the process by which all great char- 
acters have been developed. To achieve a worthy and 
efficient character, to "win out" in the struggle against 
a life of mere animal pleasure, intellectual laziness, and 
moral imbecility is the only victory that makes old age 
tolerable or even respectable. This struggle for a 
higher self is the supreme challenge of life. All through 
our best literature the dominant note is the appeal to 
all of us to strive manfully to realize our best ideals and 
to be true to our higher self, to " build more stately 
mansions" for our souls each year, to think on the 
things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and 
of good report. Through the loving guidance of par- 
ents in the home and sympathetic training and teach- 
ing in the school the child gradually acquires self- 
mastery and develops into a citizen who realizes his 
obligations to society in return for his civic rights and 
privileges — a citizen in whose heart obedience to law is 
enthroned. But if through vicious home influences and 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 405 

the lack of proper instruction and training the habit of 
choosing the easy way, the lower course of action, the selfish 
gratification once grips the inner life, the whole trend of 
character is downward, and soon a thousand bad habits 
enslave the will, the moral nature is perverted, and reform 
becomes almost as impossible as it is for the leopard to 
change his spots or the Ethiopian his skin. 

Here, too, it should be noted that there is a very natural 
explanation for the discouraging fact that children fall so 
naturally and easily into bad habits, while it requires such 
infinite pains to have them acquire good ones. By bad 
habits we mean such as are not suited to the highest 
ideals of our present morality and civilization. Rage, 
cruelty, revenge, greediness, deceit, hatred are all strongly 
characteristic of primitive men and savage races. They 
are simply instincts, or inherited habits, and do not have 
to be acquired through education. These instincts are not 
to be neglected or suppressed, but guided and trained. 
To permit children to give way to their instincts and make 
no effort to master them is to permit them to grow up 
criminals, degenerates, or mere savages unfit to live in a 
civilized community. To free the child from slavery, to 
fashion these instincts through right training into habits 
of self-control, self-denial, patience, courage, chastity, 
temperance, justice, sympathy, and courtesy is the great 
purpose of moral education. 

There is another consideration of great importance to 
the teacher as trainer. The instincts and tendencies of 
children, both good and bad, do not manifest themselves 
simultaneously, but crop out in succession in the course of 
the child's development. If such an out-cropping instinct 
is not met with means for development into a habit it soon 
dies out, and if the means are present but the child is left 



406 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

without instruction and training the instinct will easily 
become a bad habit. Unless a boy learns to love games 
and sports he will find no joy in such things as a man. 
In his chapter on " Instinct," Dr. James says: " There is 
a happy moment for fixing skill in drawing, for making 
boys collectors in natural history, and presently dissectors 
and botanists; then for initiating them into the harmonies 
of mechanics and the wonders of physical and chemical 
law"; and he adds, "To detect the moment of distinctive 
readiness for the subject is, then, the first duty of every 
educator." 

Rules for Forming and Breaking Habits. — The last word 
on training is this: habits may be controlled and, in early 
life, easily controlled. They may be acquired, abolished, 
modified through training. To form or abolish a habit 
as long as the nervous system remains plastic is simply a 
matter of common-sense, clear ideas, strength of purpose, 
and continuity of effort. There are a few rules for forming 
and breaking habits that have become classic. 

(i) Make a Vigorous Start. — Summon to the mind every 
reason for changing your life; picture the advantages; put 
yourself in the way of those who possess the habit you 
desire to form; avoid those with the evil habit you wish 
to overcome. You must go into the struggle with no 
coward's heart, expecting defeat, framing excuses for 
shirking the battle. You must believe in yourself, in your 
honesty of purpose, and your ultimate victory. Herbart 
says: "Dejection which becomes habitual is consumption 
of the character." Commit yourself wholly, unreservedly,, 
publicly to the new course you have marked out. 

(2) Permit No Exception. — Success at first is indispen- 
sable. Failure here dampens the courage, undermines con- 
fidence, chills enthusiasm, paralyzes effort, aDd helps to 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 407 

form the most pitiable habit of all — the habit of expecting 
defeat. The evil that we very greatly fear is very likely 
to come to pass in our lives, Continuity in practice is the 
one sure means of making the nervous system our constant 
ally. To " taper off" in breaking a bad habit is to invite 
deieat and prove one's self a fool as well as a coward. 

(3) Act on Every Opportunity Until the Habit is Formed, 
—Precept and example are good, resolves are better, but 

action and practice are best, for they are absolutely neces- 
sary to convert precepts and resolutions into habit. In 
forming or breaking habits one act is worth a hundred 
resolutions, wishes, or intentions. As one writer says: 
" There is no more contemptible type of human character 
than that of the nerveless sentimentalist and dreamer who 
spends his life in a weltering sea of sensibility and emotion 
but who never does a manly concrete act." Do not lose 
time in dreading a disagreeable task. Temper the will 
by doing hard things. 

(4) Grow a Good Habit in the Place of a Bad One, — - 
Action is positive; to simply refrain from action is not 
enough. To conquer the habit of lying one must not re- 
frain from talking, but must be scrupulously exact in what 
he says. A bad temper i* not overcome by refusing to 
frown, but by smiling and passing the genial word; and 
selfishness is not conquered by becoming a hermit, but by 
playing the good Samaritan to those who are in need. 
Thorndike says : " Intellect and character are strengthened, 
not by any subtle and easy metamorphosis, but by the 
establishment of particular ideas and acts under the law 
of habit. There is no way of becoming self-controlled 
except by to-day, to-morrow, and all the days in each little 
conflict controlling one's self. There is no possibility of 
gaining general accuracy and thoroughness except by 



40S THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

seeking accuracy in every situation, by trying to be thorough 
in every task, by being accurate and thorough rather than 
slipshod and mediocre whenever the choice is offered. 
No one becomes honest save by telling the truth or trust- 
worthy save by fulfilling each obligation he accepts. No 
one may win the spirit of love and service who does not 
day by day and hour by hour do each act of kindness and 
help which chance puts in his way or his own thoughtful- 
ness can discover. The mind does not give something for 
nothing. The price of a disciplined intellect and will is 
eternal vigilance in the formation of habits. Moreover, if 
special training does not give large dividends they are safe 
ones; if it drives a hard bargain it at least redeems every 
promise. No right thought or act is ever without its 
reward; each present response is a permanent investment 
for the future; the little things prepare for the great; 
the gain achieved by a teacher's efforts is never wasted. 
The only way to become an efficient thinker and a true 
man is to constantly think efficiently and act manfully, 
but that way is sure. Habit rules us but it also never 
fails us." 

The Spirit and Motives of the Trainer. — Thus the teach- 
er's work as trainer permeates the entire work of the school. 
There is a certain time for study, another time for recita- 
tion, another time for play, but the time for training is 
all the time. It is the one continuous function of the school. 
To quote from the rules of the School Board of Cleveland : 
"It shall be a duty of the first importance on the part of 
the teachers to be models in personal appearance and con- 
duct for the pupils under their care. They are especially 
enjoined to avail themselves of every opportunity to incul- 
cate neatness, promptness, politeness, cheerfulness, truth- 
fulness, patriotism, and all the virtues which contribute 



HABIT FORMING IS CHARACTER BUILDING 409 

to the effectiveness of the schools, the good order of society, 
and the safety of our American citizenship." 

The forms of training are many. Some school exercises 
are named physical culture, others are called recitations, 
drills, study lessons; still others are known as object-lessons, 
manual training, opening exercises; but the purpose of all 
of them is habit forming, training for health, for earning a 
living, for citizenship, for character — in a word, for complete 
living. Not all this training can be reduced to set exer- 
cises and drills. The finer and better part of it all may be 
in the spirit and motives of the teacher. The unconscious 
tuition of the teacher is one of the most important factors 
in school training. It is the alchemy of the teacher's influ- 
ence that counts for most in giving pupils the desire to do 
better and to be better. It creates the atmosphere of the 
school. On the wall of a Swiss school-house are these 
words in memory of a man who transformed the schools 
of a nation by his spirit and motives: "Henry Pestalozzi, 
savior of the poor at Neuhof, at Stanz the father of the 
orphans, at Burgdorf founder of the common school, at 
Yverdun the educator of humanity; man, Christian, 
citizen. All for others, nothing for himself." 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Sisson, "Essentials of Character," chaps. IV, VIII, IX; Wood- 
worth, " Psychology," chap. XIII; Strayer, "A Brief Course in 
the Teaching Process," chap. XIV; Dewey, "Democracy and 
Education," chap. XXVI; Colvin and Bagley, "Human Be- 
havior," chap. XI; James, "Psychology," vol. I, chap. IV; An- 
gell, "Psychology," chap. XXII; Tompkins, "School Manage- 
ment," pp. 41-48 and 183-196; Oppenheim, "Mental Growth 
and Control," chaps. I, VII; Home, "Psychological Principles of 
Education," chaps. XXVI, XXVII; Rowe, "Habit-Formation 
and the Science of Teaching," chaps. VI, VIII, IX. 



PART V 

THE TEACHER AS RULER AND 
MANAGER 

CHAPTER XXVII 
SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 

The Old View of School Discipline. — Nowhere else is the 
difference between the old school and the new more appar- 
ent than in the treatment of the subject of discipline by- 
writers on school management. The old books on teach- 
ing are largely given over to extended discussions of school 
government in all its phases of authority, rules, regulations, 
prizes, and punishments. Minute directions are given as 
to how and when pupils are to be reproved, reprimanded, 
deprived of privileges, suspended, expelled. There are 
long and learned discussions of corporal punishment, its 
dangers, its merits, the instrument to be used, the number 
of blows to be given, the particular portion of the anatomy 
to suffer. All this is a strong reminder of the fact that 
when the school course was entirely devoid of interest, 
teachers untrained in method and utterly ignorant of the 
laws of human development, the rod was the necessary 
emblem of the teacher's vocation. 

Henry Barnard cites the case of a German school-master 
who kept a record of the punishments he had inflicted 

410 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 411 

during his career as a teacher. Among the usual punish- 
ments were 911,527 blows with a cane, 20,989 with a ruler, 
136,715 with the hand, 10,205 over tne mouth, 7,905 boxes 
on the ears, 1,115,800 snaps on the head. 

Why School Government Has Become More Humane. — 
(1) School government reflects the greater humanity of 
modern civil codes. 

In 1800 the criminal code of England recognized two 
hundred and twenty-three offences punishable with death. 
If a man shot at rabbits or cut down young trees or in- 
jured Westminster Bridge or stole property valued at five 
shillings or stole a piece of cloth from a bleach-field he was 
hanged. In 18 16 sentence of death was passed upon a 
child only ten years old. In 1846 an English soldier was 
flogged to death, and wherever slavery existed punish- 
ments were frequent and brutal. 

As slavery gradually disappeared and civil codes became 
more enlightened, school government reflected the change 
in public sentiment. In most communities now the 
teacher will find the question of corporal punishment a 
matter of regulation by the school authorities. 

(2) The work of the school has been made more inter- 
esting. 

As long as the work of the school consisted largely of 
memorizing Latin grammar and of absurd parsing exer- 
cises, it possessed little interest for the average boy. 
Through an enriched course of study, providing for variety, 1 
well graded as to difficulties, and affording outlets for the 
pupil's instinctive love of physical activity, there is less 
need of compulsion and punishment. And as teachers 
have mastered the art of method, learned to understand the 
instincts of children, to discover their lovable traits, and to 
believe in their possibilities, instruction and training have 



412 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

more and more superseded government and punishment 
in our schools. 

(3) The whole spirit of the school has been transformed 
through the influence of educational reformers. 

Through the sacrificing labors of Pestalozzi, Froebel, 
Horace Mann, Elizabeth Peabody, Francis Parker, and 
hundreds of other noble men and women, the calling of 
the teacher has been uplifted and dignified, the laws of 
human development have been unfolded, and the attention 
of teachers has been turned more and more to the inner 
forces at work in the school-room and to the process of 
mental and spiritual growth in the child. Little by little 
teachers are discovering that school discipline cannot be 
separated from the other work of the school and pursued 
as an end in itself; that it is a matter of spirit rather than 
of mere external acts and forms; that training is better 
than punishing; that sympathy and love are stronger 
agents of reform than pain and hate; that the real source 
of discipline is the teacher's personality and influence rather 
than his authority and rules. 

School Government as Related to Discipline.— This 
changed view of the nature of the teacher's work makes it 
necessary to distinguish between school government and 
school discipline. Of course government and discipline 
are inseparable in practice but they differ as to aim and 
method. The immediate purpose of school government 
is good order; that of discipline is good habits and char- 
acter. Government aims to secure prompt obedience to 
commands and cheerful compliance with necessary rules 
and regulations; discipline seeks to render commands and 
rules unnecessary. Government implies restraints; disci- 
pline implies growth into liberty. Good order is the result 
of just government and wise management; discipline is the 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 413 

result of instruction and training. The purpose of school 
government is to prevent everything that tends to disturb 
instruction and training. All tendencies to disorder, unnec- 
essary noise, incivilities, useless expenditure of energy, rest- 
lessness, waste of time, incipient rebellion should be removed, 
should, in fact, be nipped in the bud; otherwise the work 
of instruction and training is hindered or entirely prevented. 
From these considerations it is clear that to secure good 
order is not only the imperative duty of the teacher but 
his first duty. Disorderly pupils cannot learn, and they 
prevent others from learning, thus the very purposes for 
which the school exists are defeated. Not only so, but in 
a disorderly school pupils are not simply prevented from 
receiving proper instruction and training; they are actually 
being instructed in all meanness and mischief and trained 
in habits of lawlessness, waste of time, disregard for all 
authority, impudence, coarseness, neglect of duty, and are 
missing their opportunity for becoming intelligent and 
decent citizens. The attentive reader need not be told 
that the larger problems of school discipline have been 
fully treated already in the chapters on the teacher as 
instructor and trainer. A short discussion of school 
government as a means of securing and maintaining good 
order is all that is required here. 

Good Order Must Precede Effective Discipline. — In this 
narrow sense good order must precede effective discipline. 
We have said that discipline implies growth into freedom. 
But freedom is never attained through anarchy and 
license. True liberty is perfect loyalty to an ideal, cheer- 
ful submission to an inner law which the mind recognizes 
as just and necessary. A good man does right not because 
he is commanded to, but because it is right. He would 
act just the same if every law were repealed, for he does 



414 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

not think of the law at all, but only of his ideal of what is 
right Now no one acquires this insight, this inner free- 
dom, except through obedience to some outer authority, 
some training in self-restraint and self-control. To little 
children right is what is commanded; wrong is what is 
forbidden. Children acquire concepts and principles of 
morality, just as they must acquire all other concepts, i. e.. 
through concrete experiences. No system of moral train- 
ing is possible without rewards and punishments. It is 
neither possible nor just to treat every pupil exactly like 
every other pupil, to make no distinction between the lazy 
and the industrious, the careful and the careless, the faith- 
ful and the faithless, the obedient and the rebellious. It 
is not possible that a school should be composed of pupils 
so perfect that rewards and punishments are never neces- 
sary. But we have seen that while the first aim of school 
government is order, the final aim is freedom. Compayre 
says: "The day will come when they (the pupils) will no 
longer be subject to the rules of the school. And this 
makes still more apparent the necessity of a discipline, at 
once mild and strong, affectionate and severe, of a liberal 
discipline which, while governing the child, refrains from 
humiliating and enslaving him, from destroying his natural 
inclinations, but which prepares him for becoming a man, 
that is, for remaining free while obedient to law." So far 
as the school is concerned, no order is good and no govern- 
ment is effective which does not in some measure contribute 
to the attainment of this final aim. Pupils are governed 
in school (i) to make instruction and training possible; 
(2) to learn self-government. 

School Government a Relative Term. — School govern- 
ment has to do with the law of the school and its ad- 
ministration. School government includes the system of 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 415 

measures employed by the teacher and the school board to 
create and preserve order. These measures are effective 
only as they are adapted to a particular school and to indi- 
vidual pupils in the school and are enforced with good 
sense, moderation, and absolute justice. We have shown 
that growth into self-government, or discipline, is a develop- 
ment, hence requires time. It is also a continuous process; 
yet its first aim is order and its final aim is freedom. It has 
to do with the child in the primary grade as well as the 
high-school student. But the government of little children 
is quite a different thing from that of high-school pupils 
and requires very different means. Indeed this difference 
is so great that a teacher may succeed admirably in the 
government of a primary room and fail miserably to govern 
older boys and girls. The means used, then, by the teacher 
to secure good order must conform to the stage of the pupil's 
development In other words, school government is a 
relative term. As W. T. Harris says : " From simply com- 
manding the teacher should proceed to explain the reasons 
of his commands; from these again to the expression of 
desires and the manifestation of a generous confidence; and 
from these to the frequent option and discretion of the 
child, preparatory to the moment of giving him entirely 
into his own hands." 

The First Source of Good Order. — The first source 
of good order is thus seen to be the authority of the 
teacher. 

Of course some ultra theorists will balk at this word 1 
authority. They have imbibed the sickly sentimentalism 
of Rousseau, or they are disciples of those who preach the 
doctrines of natural punishments, or they make "soft 
government" an excuse for their own weakness of char- 
acter. There are, however, good reasons for asserting that 



416 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the first source of good order in the school-room is the 
authority of the teacher. 

(i) The very nature of children makes authority neces- 
sary. 

The greater number of cases of disorder in the school, at 
least in the lower grades, are the result of the ignorance, 
the carelessness, and the lack of training of pupils. Chil- 
dren are naturally noisy, emotional, and impulsive. They 
are instinctively playful, active, imitative. Some of them 
are sly, deceitful, cowardly. But it is for these very reasons 
that they need instruction and training and government. 
If children did not possess these characteristics, teachers 
would be out of a job. But it is evident that there can be 
no effective instruction, no possible training unless pupils 
are orderly, systematic, quiet, and obedient. 

(2) Home training is sometimes notoriously defective. 

Where children have been neglected at home, and have 
come into the school with bad manners and bad morals 
pretty well developed, it is not common-sense to expect 
that the teacher and the school can atone for all the sins 
of the parents and the home. Until the child from such a 
home can be trained to subject his will to the general will 
of the school and conform his manners and conduct to the 
necessary customs and requirements of the school willingly 
he must be made to do so, otherwise the whole school would 
be disorganized. When children have not learned to 
respect authority at home, it must be expected that there 
will be a conflict before they learn to respect the authority 
of the school. To permit children to grow up without 
respect for some authority is a crime. Hence the law 
gives school boards and teachers the requisite authority 
to enforce obedience in the school, and no teacher has the 
moral right to hide behind the sins of the parent and to 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 417 

make the lax discipline of the home an excuse for tolerating 
lawlessness and rebellion at school. There must be no 
hesitation in using authority, no weakness, no compromise 
with anarchy, no fear of unpopularity, no shirking of duty. 
Good order must be maintained at any cost, for without 
it the legitimate work of the school is impossible and a 
disorderly school is a seed bed of vice. 

The Second Source of Good Order. — The second source 
of good order is the character and influence of the teacher. 

The teacher sets the standard of order for the school. 
Pupils will not have a higher standard than that of the 
teacher. They will seldom act any better than they are 
expected to act. The qualifications of the teacher neces- 
sary to secure and maintain good order are enumerated 
by most writers on school management. Those given by 
Baldwin are as follows: 

i. Bearing, the inspiring factor. 

2. Tact, the managing factor. 

3. System, the organizing factor. 

4. Will power, the controlling factor. 

5. Heart power, the winning factor. 

6. Teaching power, the vital factor. 

7. Pupil insight, the guiding factor. 

8. Culture, the commanding factor. 

9. Character, the uplifting factor. 

With a teacher possessing these qualities it will hardly 
be possible to have a disorderly school, and unless the 
teacher has them in some degree there will be disorder in 
any school. 

The Third Source of Good Order. — The third source of 
good order is the interest of the pupils in the school and in 
their daily work. 

The thoughtful teacher will understand that if pupils as 



418 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

a class, or as individuals, are not interested in their school 
work, there is some adequate cause for it. Such a teacher 
will not resort to scolding, nagging, and punishing, but will 
seek to ascertain the cause of the pupil's lack of interest. 
He will find that the cause is in one or more of these 
directions. i 

(i) In the pupils. Some pupils are naturally slow to 
learn. Other pupils have more or less serious defects of the 
senses. Many have never been taught how to get a lesson 
from a book. Some have stronger outside interests, and 
not a few smoke cigarettes, or have other bad habits, or 
are improperly fed. Still others have, like Topsy, just 
"grow'd." 

(2) In the studies. It may be that the course of study 
is at fault. It makes no provision for motor activities. 
The text-book is a poor one. The pupil may have got a 
bad start under a former teacher, or may be improperly 
classified, or may have skipped some necessary lessons, or 
may have never guessed that what he studies in the book 
has any application to real life. 

(3) In the surroundings. The air may be foul, the 
temperature too hot or too cold, the seats uncomfortable, 
the class uncongenial or too small for stimulating compe- 
tition. 

(4) In the teacher. Lastly, the teacher will do well to 
look for the real cause of the pupil's lack of interest in him- 
self. Is the school properly organized? Is the manage- 
ment weak and shiftless ? Are the lessons well assigned ? 
Does the teacher know the subject, and can he teach the 
lesson without the book? Is there interest, enthusiasm, 
earnestness in the teacher? Are the fundamental laws 
of teaching understood and applied? Is there sympathy 
for pupils ? Does the teacher waste his energy in dissipa- 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 419 

tion and foolish conduct outside of school ? Some writers 
insist strongly that in nearly all cases the cause of a dis- 
orderly school is a disorderly teacher. According to Inspec- 
tor Hughes of Toronto, disorder in school is created by all 
those teachers whose standard of order is low, who think it 
"easiest to keep poor order," who allow pupils to think 
that submission is a compliment to the teacher, who think 
children like disorder, who know the value of good order 
but make no conscious effort to increase their power of 
control or to improve their methods of discipline, who 
justify their lack of effort by saying that "power to disci- 
pline is a natural gift," who try to stop disorder by ringing 
a bell, striking the desk, stamping the floor, who are them- 
selves noisy and demonstrative, who speak in a high key, 
who roll their eyes but do not see, who hurry, whose stand- 
ard of order varies, who do not see any use in being so 
particular about trifles, who have order only while they 
are in the room, who believe in lecturing the class, who 
have no clearly defined motives to communicate to the 
class, who have not sufficiently developed character to 
inspire their pupils with their own motives, who have not 
sufficient will power to insist on obedience, who always 
teach "where children are bad," who get angry in execut- 
ing the law, scold, threaten, are impatient, are harsh. 

What Mr. Hughes means by this formidable list is that 
most pupils who are disorderly catch the disease from the 
teacher. 

The Fourth Source of Good Order. — The fourth 
source of good order is the ideals and standards of the 
community. 

All the social factors of the community should contribute 
something to the efficiency of the school as a means of 
preparation for citizenship and social lift. The church, 



420 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

the home life, the public library, the museum, the news- 
paper, the industrial life may each add its quota. 

Means of Securing Good Order. — The means of securing 
order are of two kinds: (i) Indirect means; (2) direct 
means. The indirect means are preventive, and therefore 
of the greatest importance. This is in the real sense school 
government as discipline. The direct means are: (a) 
Positive incentives or rewards; (b) negative incentives 
or punishments. 

(1) Indirect Means of Securing Order. — These are the 
qualifications, personality, ideals, and spirit of the teacher, 
as already indicated. They include the teacher's scholar- 
ship, teaching power, skill as organizer, power and fore- 
sight in management, tact, interest, sympathy, and love. 
The most potent force in securing good order is what 
Bishop Huntington has called the teacher's unconscious 
tuition. Teachers are coming to understand that these 
indirect factors are the really important . ones in school 
government, because their purpose is to prevent disorder 
rather than to cure it. From this point of view, good order 
is work systematized; it is cheerful law-abiding. Good 
order has been defined as the "conscious working out of 
the aims of the school in productive activity, 7 or the 
"condition resulting from the exact performance of duty 
at the right time and in the right way." It does not mean 
stagnation. It does not restrict pupils in their rights. 
It extends to the pupil's conduct in the halls, on the play- 
ground, on the street, in public places. In the best schools 
of to-day teachers aim to secure good order by absorbing 
the entire time and energy of the pupils in systematic 
work. They endeavor to capture the pupil's interest 
through richness in subject-matter, variety in method, 
pleasant and cheerful surroundings. They make ample 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 421 

provision for the pupil's motor activity through games and 
athletics, through singing, drawing, and all kinds of hand- 
work. They plan his seat work carefully and supervise 
it systematically. Good order is best secured by reducing 
the necessary routine of the school to a habit, by making 
it automatic, by looking carefully after the " little things," 
such as the distribution and use of materials, sharpening 
pencils, care of desk, helping individual pupils, requests to 
leave the room, to whisper, or to get a drink, passing 
through the halls. In short, good order is secured through 
managing rather than governing. Regular employment of 
activity, systematized and constant occupation, and the 
influence of the teacher are the real secrets of success in 
the government of the school. Good order in elementary 
schools is largely a matter of imitation and suggestion. 
Children are extremely suggestible. They are uncon- 
sciously influenced by the voice, the looks, the manners of 
the teacher. They imitate the teacher's tones, attitudes, 
mannerisms, and reflect his spirit, his motives, and ideals. 
Spencer says: a Do but gain a boy's trust; convince him 
by your behavior that you have his happiness at heart ; 
let him discover that you are the wiser of the two; let him 
experience the benefits of following your advice and the 
evils that result from disregarding it, and fear not you will 
readily enough guide him." So it is literally true that the 
school is best governed that is least governed, or rather, 
that is governed indirectly, through the regular work of 
the school, wise and skilful management, and with very 
little show of authority. 

(2) Direct Means of Securing Order. — (a) Positive in- 
centives. An incentive is a stimulus to effort. The word 
is sometimes used to name the desire for a given object, 
and again it is used to signify the object desired. As a 



422 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

matter of fact, it includes both, for without the object, or 
its image, desire would be blind, and without desire the 
object would not influence effort. Positive school incen- 
tives are called rewards. These rewards may be material 
objects, as prizes, or they may consist of some mark of 
honor or distinction, some privilege or immunity, or the 
satisfaction of some specific desire, motive, or ideal. 
Positive incentives are legion in number, for any desire, 
instinct, motive, or ideal of the pupil may form the basis 
of an incentive. Many of the strongest positive incen- 
tives are based upon the child's natural instincts of activity, 
play, curiosity, imitation, emulation, and sympathy. The 
teacher may make use of all these positive incentives. He 
may bring into play the pupil's social instincts, his collect- 
ing instincts, and his constructiveness. The teacher may 
also appeal to the pupil's desire for approbation, for suc- 
cess, for skill, for co-operation, for the joy of discovery and 
the satisfaction of ambition. Finally, the teacher may hope 
to appeal with success to the highest motives and ideals that 
influence human action, such as positive pleasure in work, 
joy in mastering difficulties, love of knowledge, hope of 
success in life, satisfaction of doing right, the ambition to 
be useful, the sense of duty, the feeling of moral obligation, 
the joy of unselfish service, and the consciousness of growth 
toward an ideal. 

Positive incentives should be used by the teacher rather 
than negative ones, and a safe rule to follow is, " Of two 
equally effective incentives, always use the higher." Ap- 
peals to the child's lower nature, his vanity, selfishness, 
passions, and malevolent feelings are universally con- 
demned as school incentives. We have spoken of positive 
incentives as rewards, for it is the purpose of positive 
incentives to establish a stable association between good 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 423 

conduct and pleasure by the use of incentives in an ascend* 
ing scale of moral value. This implies that incentives 
must be suited to the particular school and the individual 
pupil, and in either case it is little short of a crime to use 
low incentives where the higher ones could be used. Pupils 
are like other folks; they must have incentives to effort, 
motives for conduct, but the higher these incentives are 
the greater will be the sense of freedom, the higher the 
plane of conduct, and the nobler the trend of character. 
With small children commands are necessary; rules, im- 
plied or expressed, are indispensable. But commands 
and rules should be used less and less as the pupil advances 
in knowledge, and at all times they should be few, well- 
considered, given once for all, clearly stated, positive in 
character, and, above all, should be enforced impartially, 
consistently, and vigorously. Only as a last resort or as a 
temporary resource in order to prepare pupils for "higher 
things" should the teacher resort to the use of negative 
incentives. 

(b) Negative incentives. Such incentives have the ele- 
ment of coercion. They imply opposition or open rebel- 
lion. They are repressive. They involve the withholding 
of some pleasure or the infliction of some pain. David 
Page said: "Punishment is pain inflicted upon the mind 
or body of an individual by the authority to which he is 
subject, with a view either to reform him, or to deter others 
from the commission of offences, or both." Thus the pur- 
pose of punishment is to establish such an association 
between bad conduct and pain as to enable the pupil to 
repress undesirable instincts, inhibit w "ng impulses, and 
to render obedience to the customs and rules of the school 
as the result of freely and habitually choosing highe* 
incentives to conduct. 



424 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

Here we come to the famous theory advanced first by 
Rousseau and elaborated by Herbert Spencer — the theory 
of " natural consequences/' or the doctrine that punish- 
ments should be the natural result of offences. Spencer 
maintains that Nature inflicts a full and sufficient penalty 
for every violation of her laws, and that these penalties are 
beneficial checks to injurious actions, always follow the, 
actions as results follow causes, are proportional to the 
offence, are consistent, just, enforce themselves, and hold 
throughout life. If a child runs a pin into its finger, pain 
follows. If it puts its hand on the stove, it gets burnt. If 
it carelessly handles a sharp instrument, it will be cut. 
And it will be punished in the same way for every repetition 
of the offence. Children should be treated in like manner 
in the home and in the school. If a child loses his toy, 
let him get along without it; if he breaks his knife, do not 
buy him another; if a little girl is not ready for her walk 
at the exact minute appointed, let her stay in; if she leaves 
her toys for her mother to pick up and put away, do not 
let her have them to play with. 

There is very much of value in Spencer's suggestions, 
and every teacher should read his chapter on moral educa- 
tion. There are many opportunities to apply his theory of 
natural punishment to school offences. But to attempt 
to apply his suggestions verbatim would be not only 
foolish but criminal, for the child is ignorant of the 
dangers of fire and edged tools; nor are Nature's penal- 
ties always inflicted at once and in direct connection with 
the offence; nor are they always proportional to the 
wrong act or confined to the perpetrator of the act. 

This conception of Nature, so popular with followers 
of Rousseau and Spencer, as a benign, motherly personal- 
ity whose business it is to educate the individual child is 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 425 

worthy only of the spring poet. Nature, to use their 
familiar figure of personification, has her sweet and tender 
moods, her fragrance of the rose, her songs of birds, her 
arching skies; but she has her dark and terrible moods 
as well. She has her tempests, her earthquakes, her 
serpents that hiss and sting, her monsters that devour. 
She does not discriminate between the guilty and the inno- 
cent, the just and the unjust as individuals. She knows 
no pity, feels no remorse. She beats down the defenceless. 
She burns all the deeper the baby's tender flesh because he 
is a baby. Yet the teacher is asked to stand in the place 
of Nature to the child, and imitate a mere blind, imper- 
sonal, unfeeling force personified in order to carry out a 
biological theory of education. Tennyson knew better, 
for he wrote of Nature: 

"So careful of the type she seems, 
So careless of the single life." 

Pestalozzi knew better, for he said: "Nature is devoted 
to the race as a whole, but she is careless of the individual. 
On the side of the individual she is blind, and, being blind, 
she cannot come into harmony with the seeing, spiritual, 
moral nature of man. Therefore the education and train- 
ing of the child must be taken out of the hands of blind, 
sensuous Nature with her darkness and death, and put 
into the hands of our moral and spiritual being, and its 
divine, eternal inner light and truth," that is, into the hands 
of a discerning, personal, moral, sympathetic teacher. 

Admitting, then, that negative incentives have a proper 
and necessary function in the government of the school, the 
teacher should realize that great care and wisdom are 
necessary in their use. Negative incentives are as varied 



426 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

in kind and degree as are positive ones. In fact, almost 
every positive incentive has its negative side. The pupil's 
fear of the loss of favor and his dread of failure may be as 
strong as his desire for praise and his hope of success. 
This fact indicates the most important consideration in 
regard to the use of negative incentives; to be effective, 
they must be used very sparingly and only to supplement 
positive incentives or to meet some sudden emergency, or 
crisis, in government. Children soon lose their fear of 
penalties daily inflicted. They soon grow callous to fault- 
finding, scolding, and threats. They care nothing for the 
censure of one whom they have ceased to respect. They 
even become indifferent to brutality, sarcasm, ridicule, and 
personal indignities where these things are daily occur- 
rences in the school-room. Teachers would never permit 
themselves to depend upon negative incentives as a system 
if they understood these things better. Retribution has no 
place in punishment and only hardens the offender. No 
teacher should treat the offences of pupils as a personal 
matter, but should treat every offence as one committed 
against the school. What is very plain is this: (i) All 
negative incentives are bad if used all the time, or used in 
the wrong spirit; (2) some negative incentives are always 
bad. 

Among negative incentives that are always bad are per- 
sonal indignities such as pulling the hair, boxing the ears, 
blows on the head, washing out the mouth with soap and 
water, binding a cloth over the mouth to prevent whisper- 
ing. Other punishments, such as ridicule, sarcasm, calling 
pupils idiots and dunces and stupid things, are criminal 
as well as foolish. No teacher can use such punishments, 
even occasionally, and retain the respect of his pupils. 

Among the negative incentives that may be used, most 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 427 

authorities name: (i) Reproof, public and private; (2) 
loss of privileges; (3) restitution, as in the case of injury 
to property; (4) detention to perform a neglected task; 
(5) suspension; and (6) in extreme cases expulsion or 
corporal punishment. It would seem as a general rule 
that corporal punishment is out of place in the high school, 
and expulsion is equally out of place below the high school. 
A lot of sentimental foolishness has been written on the 
subject of corporal punishment. Instead of forbidding 
corporal punishment, school boards would show greater 
wisdom to employ as teachers only such persons as are wise 
enough to decide when its use is necessary and discreet 
enough to use it judiciously. 

Some rules that apply to all punishments are: (1) They 
should be used only as temporary expedients to supplement 
positive incentives; (2) wherever possible and effective, 
they should be the natural outcome of the pupil's mis- 
conduct; (3) they should be just, that is, proportional to 
the offence, and the offence is to be measured by inner 
motive rather than by outer act; (4) they should be ed- 
ucative, and reformatory in nature; (5) they should be 
economical, making as little draft as possible on the 
nervous and emotional energy of the offender as well as 
on the time and the feelings of the teacher and the school. 

The Teacher at Work. — As a final word on school 
government, it should never be forgotten that the teacher's 
chief work is not to punish, but to train; not to govern, but 
to teach. The true teacher at work is a liberator. In his 
preface to the "Toilers of the Sea," Victor Hugo says: 
"Religion, Society, and Nature — these are the three strug- 
gles of man! They constitute at the same time his three 
needs. Man has need of a faith; hence the temple. He 
must create; hence the city. He must live; hence the 



428 THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL 

plough and ship. But these three solutions comprise three 
perpetual conflicts. Man struggles with obstacles under 
the form of superstition, under the form of prejudice, and 
under the form of the elements.' ' 

The child, like the primitive man, is the slave of igno- 
rance, of fear, and of nature. It is the purpose of teach- ■ 
ing to set him iTee, to give each child possession of the! 
priceless heritage of the race, to free him from the bondage 
of ignorance and superstition, to give him power over brute 
matter and blind force, to deliver him from selfishness and 
wilfulness and evil thoughts, and to bring him into such 
sympathy and union with his race that his soul shall reflect 
the divine purpose and duty and conscience and service 
shall become the guiding principles of his life. 

The teacher at work is a creator. He creates interest 
and motive and purpose. He recreates his own mental 
states and his own moral image in the mind and heart of 
the child. The "communication of knowledge," the 
"forming of character" can have no other meaning than 
this. The teacher at work arouses and uses the pupil's 
mind to form in it a concept, a truth, or an ideal which is 
in the mind of the teacher. 

It was one of the world's greatest teachers who in his 
seventy-seventh year wrote: "I thank God that I have all 
my life been a man of aspirations; for the heart's longing 
after good is always a rill from the fountain of all good — 
from God." 

In a teacher's note-book I once read these words* 

"May every soul that touches mine — 
Be it the slightest contact, get therefrom some good- 
Some little grace, one kindly thought, 
One aspiration yet unfelt, one bit of courage 
For the darkening sky, one gleam of faith 



SCHOOL GOVERNMENT 429 

To brave the thickening ills of life, 

One glimpse of brighter skies beyond the gathering mist, 

To make this life worth while, 

And Heaven a surer heritage." 

If this shall be the result of our work as teachers, we 
are teachers indeed, and our labor is not in vain. 

SUGGESTED READINGS 

Bagley, "Classroom Management/' chaps. V, VII, VIII; 
Sears, "Classroom Organization and Control," chaps. VI, VII; 
Craddock, "The Classroom Republic"; White, "School Man- 
agement," pp. 129-216; Tompkins, "School Management," pp. 
157-183; James, "Talks to Teachers," chaps. VIII, XV; W. H. 
Smith, "The Evolution of Dodd"; Stephens, "Phelps and His 
Teachers"; Page, "The Theory and Practice of Teaching," 
chap. X; Huntington, "Unconscious Tuition"; Perry, "Disci- 
pline as a School Problem," chaps. XIII, XIX. 



INDEX 



Abstraction — Process of, 270- 

271. 
Adolescence — Importance of , 55. 
Advantages — Of choosing voca- 
tion early, 6. 
Of departmental teaching, 

197-198. 
Of gradation, 185-186. 
Of habits, 395-39^ 
Of professional training, 27- 

31. 

Of project-teaching, 305-306. 
Agassiz— -On ready-made defini- 
tions, 376. 
Agencies — On teaching health, 

66. 
Aids to method — Projects, 302- 
308. 

Teaching devices, 380-381. 

Visiting schools, 35. 
Aim of education, 42, 119-121. 
Aims — Law of, 285-287. 

Must be clear, 331-332. 

Of Americanization, 91. 

Of art and play, 142. 

Of course of study, 130-132. 

Of daily programme, 206-207. 

Of health teaching, 67-70. 

Of history and civics, 141-142. 

Of language and literature, 

139. 
Of mathematics, 140-141. 
Of moral instruction, 392-394. 
Of new lesson, 329-330, 367- 

370. 
Of recitation, 294. 
Of school, 117, 1 21-124. 
Of science, 139, 140. 



Of study-lesson, 341-346. 
Of vocational studies, 142— 

143. 

Of vocational guidance, 8. 
Apparatus — For the school, 231. 
Apperception — Law of, 281-284. 

Steps in, 338-340. 
Aptitude for teaching, 43-44. 
Aristotle — Idea of education, 23. 
Arithmetic — Value of, 140-141. 
Army — Tests in, 199-200. 
Art of teaching — How acquired, 
27. 

In college curriculum, 31. 
Assignment of lessons — How 
daily study aids in, 317-319. 

Importance and value, 325. 

Meaning of, 321. 

Principles governing, 325-329. 

Relation to projects, 329-330. 

Steps in, 330-335. 

Test of teacher's ability, 323- 

324. 
Things assumed in, 321-323. 
Assimilation — Factors in, 339. 
Association of ideas — Laws of, 

375. 
Attention — Children's, 359. 

Factors in, 275. 

Importance of in class, 274. 

Law of, 289-290. 

Makes motives, 402. 

Relation to course of study, 
129-130. 

Value of, 242-243. 
Authority — Necessity of, 416- 

417 
Autocracy — Vs. democracy, 5. 



431 



432 



INDEX 



Bagley — Definition of edu- 
cation, i i 8. 
On assigning lessons, 325. 
On seat work, 337. 
On teachers' preparation of 
lessons, 319. 
Bain — On observation, 268. 
Baldwin — On devices and meth- 
ods, 365. 
On school organization, 100. 
Qualifications necessary to se- 
cure order, 417. 
Batavia system of gradation, 191. 
Bell — Importance of first day, 

164. 
Bender, W. H. — Daily routine, 

101-102. 
Binet — Intelligence tests, 200. 
Blunders — Neglect of children, 
39-40. 
Teacher's, 17-18. 
Bonding companies — Questions 

of, 9-10. 
Books — Mastery of, 343-344. 

Means of growth, 34-35. 
Boys — Why they leave school, 

16-17. 
Browning, Robert — Description 

of children, 57. 
By-products — In school work, 

253. 
How measured, 254-255. 
Value, 253. 

Cambridge plan of grada- 
tion, 192-193, 194-195. 

Care of the school-room, 229- 
230. 

Carlyle — On work, 5. 

Carter — On producing stupidity, 
240. 

Certificate — No magic in, 3. 
Lowest grade, 16. 
Required by law, 15. 



Channing — On teachers, 237. 
Character — Children's, shaping 
of, 46-49. 

Habits as related to, 403-406. 

Method of training for, 391- 

394. 
Modified by teaching, 243- 

245. 
Result of training, 401-403. 
Supreme aim of education, 

125-126. 
Characteristics of a good proj- 
ect, 303-304. 
Children — Abuse of, 39-40. 
Examination of, 53. 
Intelligence tests of, 201-203. 
Methods of studying, 49. 
Nature of, 416-417. 
Results of neglecting, 40-41. 
Teachers must study, 43-44. 
Child's capital — Concepts, 266- 

272. 
Feeling and will, 272-275. 
Images of imagination, 265- 

266. 
Memory images, 264-265. 
Nervous energy, 259-261. 
Percepts, 263-264. 
Sensations, 262-263. 
Child Study — Abuse of children 

by society, 39-40. 
Advantages of, 44-49. 
Methods of, 49-50. 
Results of, 51-56. 
Teachers must know, 49. 
Teaching without knowledge 

of, 50-51. 
Transforms spirit of teacher, 

55. 
Choosing a vocation— Advan- 
tages of early choice, 6. 

Essentials of success in, 9. 

Gift of democracy, 4-5. 

Guidance in, 7-9. 



INDEX 



433 



Importance of, 5-6. 
Problems involved in, 6-7, 
Cicero — On training teachers, 

23. 
Citizenship — American, 91. 

Democracy demands intelli- 
gent, 83-85. 

Marks of good, 91-93. 

Method of training for, 94-96. 

Pupils' creed of, 96-97. 

School training for, 113-114, 
123. 

Study of history as related to, 
141-142. 
Civil service — Questions, 5. 
Classification — Basis of, 170. 

In graded school, 180-182. 

Intelligence tests as related to, 
198-203. 
Colegrove, Dr. Kenneth — On 

citizenship, 92-93. 
Comenius — On learning, 212- 
214. 

On the senses, 262. 

On universal education, 23. 

Orbis Pictus, 278. 
Committee of Fifteen — On read- 
ing, 343- 

On training teachers, 22-23. 

On value of studies, 136. 

On works of literary art, 234. 
Committee of Ten — Selection of 

studies by, 135. 
Common schools — Americaniza- 
tion through, 91. 

A unique institution, 85-86. 

As related to democracy, 83- 
84. 

Compulsory attendance justi- 
fied, 86-87. 

Co-operation in, 87-88. 

Dividends from, 88. 

Nature of, 1 08-1 16. 

Partners in, 88-90. 



Reaction upon society, 90-91. 
Train for citizenship in, 93-96. 
Common sense — In organiza- 
tion, 103. 
Will not invite failure, 14. 
Community — Ideals of, 419-420. 
Relation of course of study to, 
132. m 
Comparison — Importance of, 
340. 
Prominent in good recitations, 

374- 
Second step in forming con- 
cepts, 269-270. 
Units of, 375. 
Compayre — On rules, 414. 
Compulsory attendance laws, 

86-87. 
Concentration — Definition of, 

148. 
Concept — Nature of, 266-268. 
Steps in thinking, 268-272. 
Confidence — Gained by knowl- 
edge, 17. 
Lack of, 18. 
Consciousness — Stream of, 381- 

382. 
Consolidation of rural schools- 
Only solution of rural school 

problem, 175. 
Progress in, 175-177. 
Contagious diseases — Preven- 
tion of, 67-68, 229. 
Contents of child's mind, 261- 

272. 
Contracts — Signing and keeping, 

160. 
Co-operation — Between teacher 
and pupils, 17. 
Law of, 1 14-115. 
Life of the school, 108-111. 
Society maintains school by, 
87-88. 
Co-ordination — Meaning of, 149. 



434 



INDEX 



Corporal punishment — In old- 
time schools, 410-41 1. 

Montaigne on, 41. 

When justifiable, 415-417. 

Why discarded, 411-412. 
Correlation — Meaning of, 149- 
150. 

Of studies, 148. 
Cortex — Impressions on, 259- 

261. 
Course of study — Aims, 130-132. 

Correlation of subjects in, 
148-150. 

For rural schools, 177-179. 

Groups of studies in, 138-144. 

How to use, I53-I55- 

Importance of, 129-130. 

Nature of, 152. 

Problems in making, 133-134. 

Proposed by Comenius, 386. 

Relation to aims, 129. 

Relation to community, 132. 

Selection of material for, 134- 

137. 
Sequence of studies in, 143. 
Teacher and, 150-15 1, 322. 
Creed — Pupils' on citizenship, 

96-97. 
Culture epochs — Theory of, 146- 

147. 

Decoration of the school- 
room, 232-233. 

Deduction — Law of, 288-289. 
Meaning of, 268. 
Value of, 377-379. 

De Garmo — On formal disci- 
pline, 135. 

Deliberation — Process of, 402. 

Democracy — Choosing a voca- 
tion in, 4-5. 

Democracy and public schools — 
Americanization, 91. 



Basis of democratic education, 
87-88. 

How the school reacts upon 
Democracy, 90-91. 

Intelligence vital to real de- 
mocracy, 83-85. 

Partners in the school and 
their dividends, 88-90, 127. 

Tests of good citizens, 91-93, 

I23 ; 

Training citizens in a democ- 
racy, 93-96. 
Development — Implies training, 

383-384. 
Order of, 145-146. 
Stages in, 54. 
Devices — Aids to method, 380- 
381. 
Of gradation, 196-197. 
Dewey, Dr. — Definition of edu- 
cation, 118. 
On method, 364. 
On moral instruction, 391. 
On what a child gets out of a 
lesson, 258. 
Dickens, Charles — On neglected 

children, 40. 
Difficulties in way of study, 348- 

352. 
Discipline — Fallacy of old view 
of, 387. 
Montaigne on brutal, 41. 
Old view of, 410-41 1. 
Order precedes, 413-414. 
School government as related 

to, 412-413- 
Theory of formal, 135. 
Disorder — How teachers may 
create, 418-419. 
Prevented by child study, 44- 

45- 
Scholarship prevents, 17. 
Draper, Andrew — On cause of 
pupils leaving school, 351. 



INDEX 



435 



Dutton and Snedden — On classi- 
fication, 203-204. 
On supervision of study, 354- 
355. 

Education — Aims of, 42, 117- 
118. 

As preparation for complete 
living, 1 19-124. 

Based on laws of mental de- 
velopment, 53-54- 

Cardinal principles of new, 43. 

Defects of old, 41. 

Definitions of, 1 17-128. 

New, based on child study, 

41-43. 
Results of, 125. 
Educational papers — Means of 

growth, 35. 
Educational waste — Aimless 
teaching, 44. 
Defective organization results 

in, 100. 
No professional training, 23- 
24. 
Effects of child study, 51-56. 
Efficiency — As the aim of educa- 
tion, 118. 
Civic, 123. 
Defined, 11. 

Implies training, 383-385. 
Mastery of specific skills, 245- 

246. 
Training as related to, 387- 

390. 
Efficient teacher — Essentials in 

making, 61 
Standards for measuring, 11- 

12. 
Efficient teaching — Preparation 

for, 12-13. 
Professional growth in, 33-36. 
Relation of teacher's health 

to, 62-65. 



Scholarship essential to, 21. 
Unconscious preparation for, 
78-80. 
Elementary schools — Course of 
study in, 129. 
Importance of, 129-130. 
Reforms needed in, 155-156. 
Up-to-date, some things 
taught in, 52. 
Elizabeth plan of gradation, 191. 
Emotions — Appealing to child's, 
325-326, 422. 
Expression of, 279-280. 
Environment and heredity, 46- 

49. 
Equipment — Compared with 

teacher, 36. 
Essentials of success, 9-10. 
Evans, L. B. — On decoration, 

233. 
Everett, Edward — On schools, 

27. 

Examinations — Required by 

State, 15. 
Experience — Without training 

not sufficient, 30. 
Expression — By music, drawing, 

etc., 52. 
Eyes — Care of, 223-225. 

Faculty psychology — May be 
of no value to teacher, 
t 53-54- 
Failure— Effects of, 406-407. 
Excuses for, 80. 
Lack of scholarship, 16. 
Professional training prevents, 
28-29. 
Farm — Boys and girls on, 173. 
Foundation of civilized soci- 
ety, 177. 
Farmer — Partners with na- 
ture, 172. 



436 



INDEX 



Pioneers, 176. 
Typical, 171. 
Fatigue — Habits lessen, 395-396. 
Must be avoided, 222-223. 
Relation to programme, 209- 

211. 

Feeling — Factors of, 272-275. 
F6nelon — On schools of his time, 

41. 
First day of school — Importance 
of, 164. 
Jean Mitchell's, 167-168. 
Mistakes of, 164-165. 
Suggestions for, 166. 
Formal discipline — Theory of, 

135. 
Free schools — Necessity of, 83- 

84. 
Frcebel — Idea of play instinct, 

246-247. 
On object of education, 126. 
Functions of the modern school, 

26. 
Furniture — Necessary school, 

230-231. 

Gary system, 193, 196. 
Generalization — Meaning of, 
271-272. 
Work of the recitation, 376- 

377- 
Gilbert — On course of study, 

129. 
Gordy, Dr. — On co-ordination, 

149. 
Gradation — Advantages of, 185- 
186. 
Batavia plan, 191-192. 
Dangers of, 186-189. 
Elizabeth plan, 191. 
Gary system, 193, 196. 
Intelligence tests as basis of, 

199-203. 
Meaning of, 169-170. 



Methods of, 189. 

Modified Cambridge plan r 

192, 194. 
Of city and consolidated 

schools, 184-185. 
Of rural schools, 180-182. 
Other devices as aid to, 197. 
Term or semester plan, 190. 
Wiser course, 203-205. 

Habits — Advantages of, 395— 

398. 
As related to character, 403- 

406. 
Conserve knowledge, 397. 
Dangers of, 398-401. 
Formation of, 103, 387-390. 
Law of, 290-292. 
Of self-controlled work, 345- 

346. 
Rules for forming, 406-408. 
Strengthen power, 396. 
Steps in forming, 401-403. 
Hall, Dr.— On health, 223. 
Hamilton, Sir William — On 

highest function of mind, 

340. 
On method, 364. 
On teaching, 311. 
Harris, Dr. W. T.— Definition of 

education, 118. 
On aims of the recitation, 294. 
On arithmetic, 140. 
On basis of philosophy of edu- 
cation, 136. 
On professionally trained 

teachers, 36-37. 
On teachers' commands, 415* 
On vagabondage, 40. 
Health — Agencies of, 66. 
As a source of happiness, 65. 
Duty of teachers as to, 63-65. 
Forming habits of, 69-70. 
Importance of, 61-62. 



INDEX 



437 



Method of teaching, 67. 
Prevention of disease, 67. 
Promotion of, 121-122. 
Question of, 224-230. 
Results of teachers' ill-health, 

62-63. 
Revelations of World War in, 

regard to, 61. 
Hearing recitations, 236-237, 

293-294. 
Hegel — On beauty, 232. 
Herbart — On sources of interest, 

273-274. 
On work of education, 126. 
Heredity — Discussion of, 46-49. 
Highschools — Professional 

course in, 32. 
Hirsch, Rabbi — Why boys leave 

school, 16. 
History — Value of, 141-142. 
Hughes — On disorder, 418-419. 
Hugo, Victor — On the three 

struggles of man, 427-428. 
Human nature — Understanding 

of, 104-105. 
Hutton — Two course system, 

192, 194. 
Hygiene — Relation of to good 

order, 222. 

Ignorance — Bad habits 

formed through, 398-399. 
Images — Of imagination, 265- 

266. 
Of memory, 264-265. 
Imagination — Constructive, 

105-106. 
Images of, 265-266. 
Imitation — Persistent, 284, 403. 

Value of, 51-52. 
Improving the recitation — By 

motivation of school work, 

299-300. 



By socializing the recitation, 

300-301. 
By supervised study, 301-302. 
By teacher's mastery of the 

pre-requisites, 308-309. 

By use of projects, 302-308. 

Improving rural schools, 174- 

177. 
In loco parentis, 38-39. 
Incentives — As a means of se- 
curing order, 421-427. 
Individual — Socializing the, 136. 
Individual instruction, 102, 190- 

191, 293 
Induction — Child's first mode of 
learning, 267. 
Law of, 287-288. 
Meaning of, 267-268. 
Relation to text-books, 340. 
Instincts — Appealing to child's, 
325-326. 
Meaning of, 401-402. 
Training of, 403-406. 
Institution — Common schools, 

85-86, 114. 
Instruction — Forms of, 293. 
Forming habits must accom- 
pany, 387-390. 
Intelligence tests — As basis of 
classification, 198-199. 
Binet's scale of, 200. 
Limitations of, 202-203. 
Measures what, 199. 
Results of, 200-201. 
Value of in school work, 201- 
202. 
Interest — A form of feeling, 273. 
As a source of good order, 417- 

419. 
Doctrine of, 238-240. 
Kinds of, 274. 
Lack of, 16. 
Law of, 289-290. 
Nature of, 353. 



438 



INDEX 



Sources of, 273-274. 
Theory of, 136-137. 

Jacotot — On teaching, 256. 

Rules for learning, 347. 
James, Dr. William — On con- 
sciousness, 381-382. 
On habits, 207. 
On instincts, 406. 
On "stream of thought," 276. 
On study with pupils, 357. 
On the great thing in educa- 
tion, 388. 
On the nervous system, 291- 
292. 
Jefferson, Thomas — On public 

schools, 84. 
Johnson, Dr. Samuel — On sick- 
ness, 222. 
Judgment — Comparison neces- 
sary in, 374-376. 
Effects of habit on, 399-401. 

Keeping school, 18. 

Keeping order, 237. 

Kilpatrick, V. E. — On advan- 
tages of departmental teach- 
ing, 197-198. 

Kilpatrick, W. H. — On projects, 

303. 
Knowledge — Acquiring, 369- 

370. 
Habits conserve, 397-398. 
Road to, 17. 
Skill in applying, 125. 
Tests of, 385. 
Utility of, 135-136. 
Washington on, 84. 

Language and literature — 

Value of, 139. 
Laws of teaching, 278-292. 
Learning — Child's previous 

mode of, 349~350. 



Rules for, 347"348. 
Lessing — On truth, 338. 
Lessons — Aim of, 367-368. 
Assignment of, 321-335. 
How study aids teaching of, 

317-318. 
How to study, 31 1-3 14. 
Pupil's study of, 336-361. 
Teacher's preparation of, 310- 

320. 
When to study, 314. 
Lesson-units, 368. 
Library — School, 233-235. 
Life — Struggle of, 74. 
Lighting of the school-room, 

223-225. 
Locke, John — Definition of hap- 
piness, 121. 
On aims of education, 126. 
On memory images, 264. 
On sauntering, 237-238. 
London — On care of school- 
room, 228-229. 
On school organization, 170. 
Love — Of parents, 38. 

Of teachers for pupils, 38-39, 
56-60. 

Macaulay, Lord — On Ameri- 
can Democracy, 93. 
McDonald, George — On love of 

women for children, 38. 
McMurry, Charles — On course 
of study, 152. 
On methods, 366. 
Madison, James — On popular 

education, 84. 
Magee — On plan books, 154. 
Making of a teacher — Essentials 
in, 12-13,21,38,61, 
Health as a factor in, 61. 
Personality, 75-80. 
Qualifications, 104-107. 



INDEX 



439 



Mann, Horace — On education, 

387. 
On old-time school-house, 219. 

Marble — On unsanitary school- 
houses, 219-220. 

Marks of a good citizen, 91-93. 

Mason, Charlotte — On value of 
school work for girls, 112. 

Mathematics — Value of, 140- 

i I4 V 

Measuring efficiency — Renton 

score-card, 11-12. 
Measuring school work — De- 
fects of old methods of, 248. 
Scientific method of, 248-249. 
Standards of, 249. 
Use of standardized methods, 

249-251. 
Value of scientific tests, 251- 
253. 
Memory images — Defined and 
discussed, 264-265. 
How related, 397-398. 
Mental development — Educa- 
tion based on laws of, 53-54. 
Mental discipline — Theory of, 

135. 
Method of teaching — Aids to, 50, 

380-381. 
Basis of, 53-54. 
Citizenship, 94-96. 
Conforms to child's growth, 

54- 
Health, 66-70. 
Is there a typical, 362-363. 
Meaning of, 364. 
Vocational guidance, 7-8. 
Method-units, 322. 
Milton, John — Definition of edu- 
cation, 117. 
Mind — Contents of child's, 261- 

275. 
Old view of child's, 53-54. 



Mistakes — Child study, 44-45. 

Of first day of school, 164-165. 
Montaigne — On brutal disci- 
pline, 41. 
Moral instruction — Aims of, 
125-127. 
Character research work, 392- 

393. 
Child study as related to, 46- 

49, 54-55- 
Importance of, 387. 
Method of, 234, 391-394. 
Relation to habit-forming, 

387-390. 
School cannot evade, 390-391. 
Sources of material for, 391. 
Spirit of teacher in, 127-128, 

408-409. 
Morals — School-room as teacher 

of, 221. 
Morgan — On children's reading, 

234-235. 
Morrison, Gilbert — On impure 

air, 222. 
Motivation of school work, 299- 

300. 
Motives — How attention makes, 

402. 
Motor-activity — Law of, 279- 

281. 
Provision for, 421. 
Value of, 51-52. 
Mott, John R. — On training 

boys for citizenship, 97. 
Mulcaster, R. — On training 

teachers, 23, 31. 

N. E. A. — On vocational guid- 
ance, 7-8. 

Natural consequences — Theory 
of, 424. 

Nature — Inflicts penalties, 429. 

Nature of the school — An organ- 
ism, 108. 



440 



INDEX 



An industrial organization, 

in. 
An institution, 114. 
As a social community, 113. 
Need of vocational guidance, 7. 
Nervous system — As related to 
teaching, 259-261. 
Teacher's knowledge of, 44- 

45. 
Use of, in expression, 279-280. 
Normal school — First in U. S., 

Harris on normal school grad- 
uates, 36-37. 

Observation — First step in 
forming a concept, 268- 

269. 

Opportunity — Act on, 407. 

Teacher's, 58. 
Oral lessons — In lower grades, 

370-371. 
Relation to text-book lessons, 

350-35L 
Order — Means of securing, 420- 

427. 
Precedes discipline, 413-414. 
Sources of, 415-420. 
Organizing the school — Comes 

first, 98. 
Factors in, 103-104. 
Implies mechanism, 102. 
Importance of, 100. 
Meaning and objects of, 99. 
Qualifications required for, 

104-107. 
Systems of, 170. 
Teacher's share is, 99-100, 

no. 
Value of, 101-102. 

Page, David — On learning a 
lesson, 323. 
On punishment, 423. 



On text-books, 310. 
Parents — Compared with teach- 
ers, 38-39. 
Interest in the schools, 86-87. 
Training children, 38. 
Parker, Francis — Experiment at 
Quincy, 129. 
On cause of dullards, 347. 
On the child, 59-60. 
Patriotism — Common schools, 

nurseries of, 85. 
Payne, Joseph — Rules for learn- 
ing, 347- 
What the teacher cannot do, 

257. 
Percepts — How acquired, 349- 

350. 
Nature of, 263-264. 
Personality — Development of, 

73~74- # 
Factors in, 74. 
Meaning of, 71-72. 
Rules for developing, 75-78. 
Self-selection in growth of, 74- 

75- 

Unconscious growth in, 78. 

Will as an element in, 72-73. 
Pestalozzi — Father of public 
schools, 23. 

Epitaph of, 409. 

Miracle at Stanz, 59. 

On children's learning, 126. 

On clear ideas, 267, 272. 

On education, 117. 

On nature, 425. 

On pupils at Stanz, 244-245. 

On training, 386. 
Phases of teacher's work, 98. 
Physical education — Aims of, 
121. 

Means of, 66. 

Programme for, 67-70. 
Physical powers — Mental action 
depends on, 52. 



INDEX 



441 



Plan books — Value of, 154. 
Planning work — Confidence in 
ability for, 106. 
On opening day, 163-164. 
Plato — Definition of education, 

117. 
Popular education — Madison on, 
84. 
New problem, 23. 
View of Washington, 84. 
Problems in choosing a vocation, 

6-7. 
Profession — Requirements of, 
10-11. 
Rewards of the teacher's, 254- 

255. 
Professional growth — Means of, 

32. 

While teaching, 33, 310. 
Professional training — Demand- 
ed, 25. 

Forms standards, 29. 

Foundation of, 14. 

Growth in, 33~36. 

Harris on, 36-37. 

Health saved by, 29. 

Is essential, 26. 

Meaning of, 27. 

Means of securing, 32-33. 

Neglect of, 22-24. 

Prevents experimenting, 30. 

Prevents failure, 28. 
Programme — Factors in, 207- 
211. 

For rural schools, 214-217. 

Importance, and objects of, 
206-207. 

Keeping to, 212. 

Principles governing, 21 1-2 12. 
Projects — Aid to method, 380- 
381. 

Characteristics of good, 303- 

304. 
Defined, 302-303. 



Importance of, in lesson-plan- 
ning, 379-380. 
Proper statement of, 368-370. 
Serve as aims, 367-368. 
Types of, 303. 
Project-teaching — Advantages 
of, 305. 
Dangers of, 306. 
Meaning of, 302. 
Method of, 304-305. 
Teacher's preparation for, 310. 
Value of, 307-308. 
Promotion, 181, 188, 190, 201. 
Psychology — Faculty, 53. 
Of teaching, 257-258. 
Study of, first-hand, 43, 46. 
Puallup — Pupils' citizenship 

creed, 96-97. 
Public sentiment, 161. 
Pueblo plan, 190-191. 
Punishments — Rules that apply 
to, 427. 
Which are out of place, 426. 
Pupils — Helping to study, 354- 
360. 
Ideals of, 20. 
Powers appealed to, 374. 
Response of, 373. 
Teacher's love for, 56-60. 
Pupils — Value of good organiza- 
tion to, 101-102. 
Work dovetailing with that of 
teachers, 373. 

Questioning — Step in lesson 

assignment, 33o-33i. 
Quick — On child study, 43. 
On inattentive children, 274. 

Radestock — On habit, 388. 
Raymont — On acquisition of 
knowledge, 363. 
On correlation, 148. 



442 



INDEX 



On curriculum, 133. 

On organization, 99. 
Reading— Art of, 343-344. 
Recitation — Aims of, 294. 

As a form of teaching, 293. 

Criticisms of, 298. 

How attention is secured in, 
18-20. 

Means of improving, 299-308. 

Motivation of, 299. 

Planning for, 308-309. 

Possibilities of, 294. 

Reasons for failure, 295-298. 

Shall it be abolished, 298. 

Socialized, 300. 

Supervised study for, 301. 

Use of projects in, 302-308. 
Reforms in school, 155, 205. 
Rein, Dr. — On aim of new les- 
son, 331. 

On interest, 136-137. 

On method, 381. 
Renton — Score-card for testing 

efficiency, 11-12. 
Repetition— Persistent imita- 
tion, 284. 

Tendency to, 403. 
Requirements of teacher — First, 

57- 
Respect — Gained by knowledge, 

17. 
Responsibility — Created by 

child study, 56. 
Personal, 346. 
Pupils for work assigned, 323, 

333- 

"Revival of learning" — Views 
from, 124. 

Roark — On assignment of les- 
sons, 321. 
On duty of teacher, 358. 

Rollin — On study, 353. 

Rooper, T. — On attention, 290, 
359- 



"Pot of Green Feathers," 339. 
Rousseau — Conception of na- 
ture, 424. 

On child's first teachers, 386. 

On habit, 400. 

On nature of child, 41-43. 

On teacher, 42. 
Rural school course, 178-179. 
Rural school problem, 1 71-174. 
Rural school programme, 214- 

217. 
Rural schools— Classification in, 
180-182. 

Consolidation of, 175-177. 

Course of study for, 178-179. 

Factors in problem of, 174- 

175. 
Graduation exercises in, 218. 
Importance of, 1 71-174. 
Keeping records in, 182-183. 
Programme for, 212, 214-217. 
Reducing classes in, 182. 
Standardization of, 177. 
Untrained teachers in, 10-11. 

Sabin, H. — On nature of the 

CHILD, 45. 

Salisbury — On assigning a les- 
son, 324. 
Schaeffer, Dr.— On aim of teach- 
er, 355- 
Scholarship — Commands respect 
and confidence, 17. 

Creates interest in school 
work, 16. 

Definition of, 15. 

Foundation for professional 
training, 14. 

Importance of, 14. 

Inspires study, 19. 

Meaning of, 15. 

Prevents disorder, 17, 

Sets up ideals, 20. 



INDEX 



443 



School government — A relative 

term, 414-415^ 
As related to discipline, 413. 
Has become humane, 411-412. 
Means of securing, 420-427. 
Sources of good order, 415- 

420. 
School -house— As teacher of 

morals, 221. 
Care of, 229. 
Condition of, 162. 
Decoration of, 232. 1 
Improvement of, 52-53. 
Old-time, 219. 
Should interest community, 

220. 
School management — Meaning 

of, 169. 
Systems of, 170. 
School officers — Duties of, 158. 
School records — In rural schools, 

162-163. 
On keeping, 162-163. 
School work — Creative self-ac- 
tivity, 246. 
Acquiring specific skills, 245. 
Defined, 242. 
Helping child to realize his 

possibilities, 243. 
More than play, 238. 
Motivation of, 299-300. 
Not drudgery, 240. 
Not "hearing recitations," 

236. . 
Not just "keeping order," 237. 
Not merely "doing things," 

238. 
Not puttering, 237. 
• Purposeful activity, 242. 
Right views of, 242-247. 
Tests of, 247-254. 
Wrong conceptions of, 236- 

242. 



Schools, Public — A unique insti- 
tution, 85. 
Functions of, 26. 
Nature of, 108-116. 
Partners in, 88-89, 127. 
Visiting other, 35. 
Science — Aims of, in course, 139— 

140. 
Search, P. W. — On good health, 
223. 
On child, 147. 
On the recitation, 295-296. 
Securing a school, 158-159. 
Seerley, H. H. — On child study, 

56. 
Self-activity — Creative, 246-247. 

Law of, 284-285. 
Self-regulating system — White 

on, 103. 
Sensations — Defined, 262. 
Factors in, 262. 
Foundation of all knowledge, 

278-279. 
How combined, 281. 
Qualities of, 263. 
Sense-perception — Law of, 278^ 

279. 
Sequence of studies, 143-147. 
Shaw, Dr. — On course of study, 

204. 
Simon, Jules — Definition of edu- 
cation, 117. 
Skill — In applying knowledge, 

125. 
Smyser, Prof. — On Batavia plan, 

192. 
Socializing the recitation, 300- 

301. 
Society — Neglect of children, 

40-41^ 
Specialization — Necessity of, 25. 
Spencer, Herbert— Definition of 
culture epochs, 146. 
Definition of education, 117. 



444 



INDEX 



On a test by which to judge 
culture, 242. 

On activities of human life, 
1 19-124. 

On art of education, 31. 

On forming habits, 388. 

On gaining a boy's trust, 421. 

On knowledge vs. discipline 
studies, 136. 

On making collections, 230. 

On teaching without knowl- 
edge of children, 50-51. 

On telling pupils, 327. 

Plea for study of science, 135. 

Theory of natural conse- 
quences, 424. 
Spirit of the teacher — Child 
study can transform, 55. 

Meaning of, 14. 
State— As partner in schools, 87- 

88. 
Stephens — On county superin- 
tendent, 158. 
Stream of thought — Dr. James 
on, 276. 

In the recitation, 381-382. 
Studies — Groups of, 138-143. 

Order of, 143, 145-147. 

Outline of, 144. 

Succession of, 209-211. 

Value of, 138. 
Study — Aims of, 341-346. 

Art of, 358-360- 

Conditions of, 327-328, 352- 

354- 
Defined, 137-138. 
Difficulties in way of, 348-352. 
Hindrances to, 351-352. 
How inspired, 19-20. 
How study aids in teaching, 

3i7-3i9» 341-346. 
How to help pupils to, 354- 

358. 
Importance of daily, 310. 



Method of, 311-314, 346-348* 

Nature of, 338-341. 

Of lessons, 371-372. 

Oversight of pupils, 334. 

Rules for, 347-348. 

Supervised, 301-302. 

When to, 314. 

With the pupils, 357~358. 
Study lesson — Aims of, 341-346.. 

Importance of, 348. 

Meaning of, 336. 

Supervision of, 301-302, 334. 
Success — Qualities that win, 9— 

10, 60. 
Sully — Definition of education, 

117. 
Supervised study — Value of, 
301-302. 

Taxpayers — As partners in 

school, 89. 
Teachers— Assigning lessons, 

321-335. 
As organizers, 100, 104-107. 
As trainers, 383. 
At work, 427-429, 
Authority of, 38~39» 4I5~4I7» 
Becoming one, 3-4. 
Child-study changes, 55-56. 
Health of, 61-70. 
Meeting legal requirements, 

157. t 
Necessity of scholarship, 14- 

15. 
Opportunity of, 127-128. 
Personality of, 71-81. 
Preparation of, 12. 
Professional training of, 22— 

37. 
Qualities that win success, 9- 

10. 
Responsibility of, 158. 
Rewards of, 254-255. 
Score-card for testing, II-I2, 



INDEX 



445 



Securing a school, 158-160. 

Study of lessons, 310-320. 

Training essential, 26-27. 

What people expect of, 80-81. 

What they should be, 42. 

Who cease to grow, 310. 

Work as organizers, 83. 
Teacher's creed, 244. 
Teacher's duty — As to health, 

63-65. 
Teacher's ill-health, 62. 
Teacher's personality, 71-81. 
Teacher's philosophy of life, 75- 

78. 
Teachers' institutes — Means of 

professional growth, 35. 
Teachers' reading-circles, 35. 
Teaching— Definitions of, 256- 

257. 
Departmental, 197-198. 
Devices used in, 380-381. 
Forms of, 293. 
How daily study aids, 317- 

319. 
Laws of, 278-292. 
Means of improving, 293-309. 
Mode of learning, 310-31 1. 
Must appeal to whole child, 

259- 

Nature of, 257-259. 

Not a mechanical process, 
258. 

Preparation for, 12-13, 38 f 61 , 
78. 

Psychology of, 257. 

Purpose of, 427-429. 

Two-sided process, 257. 

Typical method of, 362-367. 
Tennyson — On nature, 425. 

On law of universe, 71. 
Text-books — Teacher indepen- 
dent of, 310, 317. 

Lessons from, 350. 

No stimulus to pupils, 351. 



Study of, 343-344- 
Subject-matter of, 340. 
Use of, 371-372. 
Thinking — Definition of, 326- 

327. 
Power of sustained, 344. 
Thorndike — On habit, 407-408. 

On impulses, 399. 
Tompkins— On business of 
teacher, 127. 
On concentration, 148. 
On course of study, 133-134, 

322. 
On study period, 356. 
Training — Development implies, 

383-384. 
Forms of, 409. 
Habits formed through, 387- 

390. 
Nature of, 384-385. 
Neglect of, 385-387. 
School cannot evade, 390-391. 
Spirit and motives of, 
408-409. 
Trumbull — On teaching, 256. 
Truth — Lessing on search for, 

338. 
Tuley, Judge — On relation of so- 
ciety to crime, 40. 
Types of projects, 303. 

Unconscious preparation for 
teaching, 78-80. 

Unconscious tuition, 420. 

Unity — Law of in child's de- 
velopment, 71-72. 

Ventilation — Morrison on, 
222. 
Teacher's knowledge of, 224. 
Vocational guidance — Aims of, 
7-8, 122. 
Material and method, 8. 



446 



INDEX 



Need of, 7. 
Results of, 9. 
Vocational subjects, 142-143. 
-Vocations — All represented in 

every community, 8. 
As a partner in school, 89, 
Created by civilized society, 5. 
Essentials of success in, 9-10. 
Guidance in choosing, 7-9. 
Importance of choosing, 5-6. 
Preparation for, 142-143. 
Problems involved in choice 

of, 6-7. 
Vocational habits formed in 

school, 111-113, 245-246. 

Washington, George — On 

popular education, 84. 
Wayland, Francis — On study of 

text-books, 345. 
White, E. E. — On assigning les- 
sons, 323. 
On child's need of mental ac- 
tivity, 336. 
On end in view in teaching, 

343. 
On scholarship, 14-15. '/>* 
On self-regulating system, 103. 
On study, 337~338. 



Will — As an element in person- 
ality^ 72-73, 76. 

Factor in learning, 272-275. 

Relation to attention, 289- 
290. 

Relation to lesson assignment, 
327-328. 

Study as related to, 353. 
Work of the school — By-prod- 
ucts of, 253. 

Creative self-activity, 246- 
247. 

Denned, 241-242. 

Helping child, 243. 

More than play, 238. 

Not "hearing recitations," 
236. 

Not "keeping order," 237. 

Not mere drudgery, 240. 

Right views of, 242-247. 

Tests of, 247-255. 

Use of standard tests, 249-251. 

Value of scientific tests of, 
251-253. 

Wrong views of, 236-242. 

Ziller — On culture epochs, 

147. 



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